The Jharkhand State Cricket Association(JSCA) on Tuesday urged corporate houses in the state to make all necessary efforts to get an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise for one of the cities. JSCA also promised to extend all possible support in terms of technical and logistics in the bidding process.
IPL's governing council is planning to float a tender for a new IPL franchise following the termination of Deccan Charger's contract. The governing body has shortlisted 10 cities - including Jamshedpur and Ranchi - for a new IPL team in the next edition of the T20 tournament. The other cities in contention are Ahmedabad, Vishakhapatnam, Dharamsala, Indore, Nagpur, Cuttack, Kanpur (Greater Noida) and Rajkot. K D Singh, former chairman of Alchemist Group and a Rajya Sabha member of Trinamool Congress, said: "I will try and build consensus and coordination among all the leading corporate houses currently operating in Jharkhand or have plans to invest in the state to come forward and bid for the IPL team."
JSCA secretary Rajesh Verma said: "With Ranchi and Jamshedpur on the shortlist, we have a perfect opportunity to become a part of the prestigious tournament. We have a state-of-the-art international-standard stadium in Ranchi and Jamshedpur's Keenan stadium will be world class after a little upgradation. The issue is about the sponsorship of the new team and for that we need funds. We appeal to the corporate houses based in the state to come forward and join hands in this regard."
The base price for the new IPL team is likely to be substantially low and some JSCA officials and former board players have also expressed hope that big about corporate houses will take the matter seriously. "The state is home to big firms like Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Hindalco and Usha Martin among others. We are counting on a positive response from them," said a senior JSCA functionary.
According to the sources, the base price of new team will be Rs 300crore for five years and it will get the same share from the league's central revenue pool, which the original eight teams earn (60 per cent). Interestingly, the base price for the two new IPL teams in 2010 was more than Rs 1,000 crore. "The new team owners will be given the option of picking players from the terminated Chargers team for the next edition," said a Bsource.
"We understand that the association with IPL will give an advantage to the corporate house in terms of publicity. IPL is a 50-day event but it is not possible for one particular company to dole out the base price alone. We are waiting for JSCA to come forward with an informal move to approach the corporate houses," said a senior executive of a Seraikela-based company which recently organized a successful T20 tournament for corporate houses in Jamshedpur.