BCCI floats tender for new IPL franchise

After terminating cash-strapped Deccan Chargers from the Indian Premier League, the BCCI on Sunday began the process of finding a new team by floating tender notices for a fresh franchise. "Under this invitation to tender, the winning bidder will be granted the right to own and operate a new team which will compete in the IPL in each year from and including 2013 onwards and will have the opportunity (if applicable and subject to qualification) to compete in each and any CLT20 which is staged from 2013 onwards." the BCCI said in an advertisement published in leading newspapers.

The bids have been invited in respect of 12 cities -- Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Dharamsala, Indore, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Kochi, Nagpur, Noida, Rajkot, Ranchi and Vizag. The tender notice said that all bidding parties will need to fulfill the eligibility criteria and other requirements specified in the Invitation to Tender.

"Bids must be submitted at 12 noon IST on Thursday, October 25. The winning bids will be announced in the manner set out in the Invitation to Tender," the BCCI advert said.

Earlier, after a month long legal battle, Deccan Chargers lost their status as an IPL team after the Bombay High Court stayed the order of Arbitrator for maintaining status quo on the matter till further hearing.

The beleaguered owners of Deccan Chargers had failed to produce a Rs 100-crore bank guarantee before the Bombay High Court, a condition that had been set for the struggling team's survival in the league. They later approached the Court-appointed Arbitrator who had passed the order of status quo. 

Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited's failure to furnish the guarantee money before the 5pm deadline on Friday effectively meant that the BCCI's termination of the team stood and the Board was free to float the tender for a new franchise. 

Deccan Chargers were hoping to resolve their financial problems by selling the team but they rejected the sole bid they received at the auction in Chennai on September 13.

PVP Ventures Limited, the Hyderabad-based urban infrastructure and film production company, had offered Rs 900 crore but Deccan rejected it finding the terms of payment and the amount unacceptable. DCHL purchased the Hyderabad franchise for Rs 428 crore in 2008.