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Teams of the BCCI’s Indian Premier League (IPL) finally got their multi-millionaire owners. All the IPL eight teams have been sold at approximately around $100 million per team, earning BCCI a huge bounty in the bargain. The winning bidders include Vijay Mallya (Bangalore), Shah Rukh Khan (Kolkata), Mukesh Ambani (Mumbai), Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia (Mohali/Chandigarh), GMR Group (Delhi), Deccan Chronicle (Hyderabad), India Cement (Chennai), and Emerging Media (Jaipur).
Three companies had been disqualified from bidding for the IPL teams – Future Group, ICICI Venture and Sahara Hospitality – as they had put in their bid late.
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Shah Rukh Khan’s company Red Chillies Pvt Ltd, which has already paid the guarantee amount of $5 million (mandatory before filing the tender), has bid $76 million for the Kolkata team. UB Group’s Vijay Mallya bid $112 million for the Bangalore team. The other bid amounts included $112 million bid by Mukesh Ambani for Mumbai team; $84 million bid by GMR Group for Delhi team; $91 bid by India Cement for Chennai team; $76 million bid by Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia for Mohali team; $67 million bid by Emerging Media for Jaipur team; and $107 million bid by Deccan Chronicle for Hyderabad team.
Meanwhile, according to some media reports, Hollywood star Russell Crowe was also all set to own a team in the upcoming Indian Premier League. Crowe, who jointly owns the South Sydney Rugby League Club, was actively considering buying a franchise in the IPL.
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Indian players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly, retired Australian cricketers Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath are among the 79 players who have been roped in by IPL to play in the Twenty20 tournament from April 18 at different centres in the country.
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Shahrukh Khan was very happy to win the Kolkatta team and said "I have already decided on the entertainment part but we have not decided on the core and content of the team. We want to put together a winning combination, for which I would definitely seek advice of the experts." SRK hopes that Indian captain Sourav Ganguly will be able to lead his team. Finally SRK also added "It’s not about money. The idea is to nurture youngsters and give them more platform for playing cricket. I have a huge passion for game and I want to be part of every sport."
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