Bharti, UB to bid for teams in premier league

Bharti Airtel and United Breweries have expressed interest in acquiring, respectively, the Delhi and Bangalore or Mumbai teams in the impending Indian Premier League (IPL) for Twenty20 cricket matches.

A leading Indian private bank and another mobile operator that recently went public are also considering acquiring IPL teams, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sources confirmed.

Bharti executives confirmed the mobile service provider's interest in acquiring an IPL team. Vijay Mallya of United Breweries was not available for comment.

Bharti executives are working on the details of the bids, which are likely to be invited through the BCCI's normal process of tendering.

"Everything will be done through tenders. Those buying the teams will have a right to make their own teams," said Lalit Modi, chairman, IPL, and BCCI vice-president, adding, "There will be an auction for international players and a separate auction system for Indian players."

The Indian Premier League, the BCCI's answer to Subhash Chandra's breakaway Indian Cricket League, is slated to have eight teams.

It has already signed on 49 international players including Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Shoaib Akhtar, Shaun Pollock, Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs.

The Indian Cricket league, also a Twenty20 competition, initially comprises six teams.

The eight franchise teams of the IPL will participate in a 56-game season. The four top teams will then play the semifinals, and the winners will contest in the championship match.