Picture Credit: Twitter
The CVC Capital that recently bought the Ahmedabad franchise for the upcoming Indian Premier League 2022 was reportedly in a major problem after the franchise owners were linked with betting issues. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had also set up a neutral panel to investigate on the betting links, which came into limelight recently. CVC Capital had bid of INR 5625 crore at the IPL auction to secure the rights for the franchise but was in doubt after reports claimed of betting associations.
It is to be noted that if the BCCI committee disallows the private equity firm, then the next highest bidder (Adani in this case), will become the owner of the franchise.
CVC gets a clean chit from the panel
In a latest development, it is to be noted that the three-member committee that was set up by the BCCI to probe the links has given the company a clean chit and the board is now set to give a 'Letter of Intent' soon. At one point earlier, the BCCI had stopped the franchise from signing batter KL Rahul.
Sisal, a betting gaming and payments company and Tipico, another sports betting and online gaming company featured among CVC Capitals’ portfolio. The BCCI office-bearers had talked about the CVC issues in the board’s recent annual general meeting and it’s learned that the company has two funds, European and Asian.
Furthermore, the European company is linked to betting companies, CVC invested in their IPL team from their Asian fund which is clear.
Former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi was against CVC Capital entering the IPL market. He took to Twitter and mentioned, "I guess betting companies can buy an IPL team. must be a new rule. Apparently, one qualified bidder also owns a big betting company. what next? does BCCI not do their homework? what can Anti-corruption do in such a case? #cricket,”
The Indian board is preparing for IPL 2022 mega auction and it might go underway in Bangalore during the second week of February.