Karnataka Premier League is drawing big money. What’s the game?

You know something’s up when you see a gathering of netas, film stars, real estate barons and even a reformed underworld don. What’s up in Bangalore is interest in T20 cricket, and this motley crew had gathered for a no-holds-barred auction to grab a team for the upcoming Karnataka Premier League (KPL), an Indian Premier League (IPL) clone dreamt up by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).

The eight winners walked away with five-year team franchises after paying a whopping Rs 35 crore. The top three teams were bought by realtors that spent nearly Rs 17 crore among themselves. The Bangalore Urban team was bought for Rs 7.2 crore by Brigade Developers; the Bangalore Rural franchise was bagged by Melmont Constructions, a Puravankara group company, for Rs 5.5 crore; and the Mangalore team was snapped up by coastal builder Fizza Developers for a little over Rs 4.2 crore.

Then, there is Mantri Developers throwing in Rs 7.7 crore to play main sponsor. The live telecast rights have been sold to a regional channel owned by the Sun TV Group.

According to Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, a scion of the Mysore royal family who now heads the KSCA, “We are thrilled that we are the first in the country to start such a tournament.” Brijesh Patel, KSCA’s honorary secretary, is also thrilled to bits with the mega deals. “We had held a T20 tourney much before the BCCI fell for the idea,” he says.

All this, despite stiff opposition from former Test captain Anil Kumble and ‘Mysore Read more…

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