New Delhi: Six Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise owners have won bids for the six teams in the Cricket South Africa (CSA)’s upcoming 2023 T20 league.
Reliance Industries Limited, Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited, Royals Sports Group, JSW Sports, Sun TV and RPSG Sports Private Limited are the six IPL team owners that have won the bids.
“The six franchise owners for South Africa’s T20 league have been confirmed following a rigorous process over the past few months,” the CSA confirmed in a statement Wednesday.
Inspired by the IPL format, CSA T-20 is one of the many cricketing competitions emerging across the globe.
Reliance Industries Limited, which owns Mumbai Indians, IPL’s most successful team so far, bought the Newlands, Cape Town franchise, while JSW Sports, owners of Delhi Capitals in IPL, bagged Pretoria.
“We are excited to take the Mumbai Indians’ brand of fearless and entertaining cricket to South Africa, a nation that loves cricket as much as we do in India. South Africa has a strong sporting ecosystem, and we look forward to exploring the power and potential of this collaboration,” Nita Ambani, director of Reliance Industries and one of the owners of Mumbai Indians, has been quoted as saying.
Chennai Super Kings Sports Limited bought the Johannesburg franchise with the highest bid at the informal auction. Meanwhile, the owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Sun TV, bought the Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) franchise.
“We have been evaluating new opportunities across the globe over the past few years. We felt this T-20 league in South Africa will be highly competitive and it is a great opportunity for us to give back to the sport. It would also help us spot new talent,” Chennai Super Kings CEO K.S. Viswanathan has been quoted as saying.
RPSG Sports and Royals Sports Group will have their teams based out of Kingsmead, Durban and Boland Park, Paarl respectively.
Graeme Smith head of CSA T-20
The CSA’s statement also said, “The open bid process, managed by Deloitte Corporate Finance, attracted over 29 entities who expressed interest in owning a franchise worldwide. Over 10 venues were made available for interested bidders to own a franchise and all 10 of them received expressions of interest.”
Former South African captain Graeme Smith was announced as the head of the CSA’s T20 league Tuesday.
“I’m deeply committed to South African cricket and happy to serve the game as best I can. I’m excited by the opportunity to deliver the new league, which I believe will be an extremely competitive product, one that can bring the much-needed investment into the game and provide new opportunities for players around the world and more importantly to our SA home grown talent,” said Smith.
The IPL is currently one of the most valuable sports leagues in the world, with its streaming and TV rights for the next five years selling at Rs 48,390 crore. Experts have noted that IPL owners’ interest in CSA T-20 will only boost the brand value of the franchise.
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Source: The Print
