News: BCCI asks IPL to fall in line, wants change in bid norms

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) seems to be tightening its grip over its progeny, the Indian Premier League (IPL).
According to sources familiar with the matter, BCCI was unhappy with the manner in which the process for choosing two new IPL teams was carried out. This resulted in the governing council of IPL ordering major changes to the bid documents.

“The pre-condition clause of bidders having a net worth of $1 billion was too stiff. If more corporates or individuals have to bid then this clause had to be eliminated. This was the view of the governing council members and this issue was raised by the (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar,” said the sources.

The IPL governing council met on Sunday morning and decided on the major modifications to the bidding process. The sources added that Lalit Modi, the chairman and commissioner of IPL, was also questioned at the meeting on the existence of a clause requiring the winners to provide a $100 million bank guarantee as a performance deposit, while the first round of bidding in 2008 had stipulated a guarantee of $5 million.

The governing council believed this was the reason why there were only a few bidders and only two of them — Videocon Industries and Adani Group — were willing to show the money.

After the meeting on Sunday, Mr Modi confirmed that some changes will be made. “The new document will have some new conditions which the IPL governing council believes will benefit the IPL and Indian cricket in the long term.”