Salman Khan may or may not buy IPL team

There are contradicting reports whether the Bollywood icon, Salman Khan, is going to own a team in the future editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) or his recent meeting with the IPL Commissioner, Lalit Modi, was nothing more than a courtesy call.


It was reported the other day that Salman Khan had shown interest in buying a franchise in the IPL but brother Sohail Khan denied the news.

"It's not true. Salman is not buying any IPL team. Yesterday when he was shooting for Dus Ka Dum I called up bhai and asked him whether it was true and he denied it," brother Sohail was quoted as saying.

The speculation grew from the moment Salman had a meeting with Modi at a suburban Mumbai hotel and it was Modi who broke the news of Salman’s interest in owning a cricket team which he was going to introduce in 2011.

"He has been interested in buying a team for quite some time. Today, we had a brief meeting and I explained how to go about with the task. I can assure you that Salman is not the only star who is thinking of buying a team. I have had around 28 queries and the list will surely go up," Modi announced.

But the sources close to Salman indicated that it was just an informal meeting and the Bollywood star did not meet Modi with an aim to own a team, he just asked him what's happening with the IPL and some other details.

If Salman in indeed interested and does make a successful bid, Salman will join an impressive list of Bollywood stars who own IPL teams. Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla have a shareholding in Kolkata Knight Riders while Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty have invested in King’s XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals respectively.
The IPL, launched to cash in on the popularity of Twenty20 cricket following India’s conquest in the inaugural World Cup of the shortest version of the game, brought in huge sums of money.

The multi-million dollar Twenty20 series featured almost all top international players and it became an instant hit with the entertainment element and the overwhelming official support from the movers and shakers of the game.

Lalit Modi is the man behind the show and he remains eager to lure the celebrities to explore how they could join the bandwagon. Obviously the stars of Bollywood prove more than useful tool in selling cricket as well. The greater number of stars that the tournament attracts certainly helps in further boosting the profile of IPL.


It remains to be seen if Salman Khan, with his preoccupations, does decide to have a go at the IPL. Apart from Salman, Ajay Devgan and Sanjay Dutt are also reportedly interested in owning IPL teams.

"He (Salman) is aware of the price of a franchise, which will be between US $200 to US $300 million. He has been keen for some time now, so he was curious about the process of auctions and the money involved,” Modi claimed in a television interview.
The request for proposal and tender for the two new teams will be floated by December and the auction will take place in January 2010. This is done to give the new owners enough time to set up a team and participate in the auction for IPL 4 for the new players.

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2:43 AM

Bollywood Actor Salman Khan interested to join the IPL band wagon

Mumbai: After the news of two more teams being added to the extravagant Indian Premier League in 2011 started doing the rounds, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan took maximum interest in the report.

The actor has showed interest in purchasing an IPL franchise for the 2011 edition and he also met the League’s Chairman Lalit Modi on Wednesday to discuss the feasibility of the prospect.

The report was confirmed by Modi when he said that Salman had approached to discuss all the pros and cons of buying an IPL team. Modi also confirmed that the actor would be buying one of the new teams and was not interested in any of the existing ones.

“We were having a discussion for last few months but this is our first official meeting,” Modi said.


Modi said although it was too early to say anything but he felt the actor was a “serious buyer”.

“He was interested to know what it takes to own a team, what’s the process, when it will be initiated and what’s the timeline for it. I think he is a serious buyer,” Modi said.

IPL is set to introduce two new teams in the 2011 season and the franchise may “cost over USD 200-300 million.

Asked if he was interested in any particular existing team or a new team, Modi said “it’s for a new team”.

It has been learnt that Salman eyes to buy either Nagpur or Kochi team.

A lot of Bollywood actors are a part of the cash-rich T20 League with Shah Rukh Khan owning the Kolkata Knight Riders, Preity Zinta with partner Ness Wadia owning the Kings XI Punjab, and Shilpa Shetty, with beau Raj Kundra, owning the Rajasthan Royals.

Modi also dropped hints that more celebrity names might come up with the process going into the later stages as it was a hot venture at the moment.

“We have large number of people interested in it with over 20 celebrities asking to become franchisees, although I don’t want to name them,” he said.

Modi also admitted that having a film star added to the glitter of the event.

“It does add to the spark (of the event),” he said.

Asked whether other Bollywood stars like Ajay Devgan and Sanjay Dutt were also keen to bid for IPL teams, Modi said these were just speculation.

“Honestly speaking, none of them have approached us. These are just speculation. It is too early to say who are the people who will bid for the teams”, he said.

Modi said the IPL organising committee will inform all the prospective buyers once it begins the bidding process.

Salman-SRK rivalry has been doing the rounds currently after the latter was detained in an airport in the US for security check. Salman’s comments went against King Khan when he said that he (Salman) has always been checked and frisked while traveling in America and SRK’s issue should not be given much importance.

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1:55 AM