Published: Nov 10, 2015, 06:14 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 10, 2015, 06:36 PM (IST)
Indian One-Day International (ODI) captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kolkata-based business tycoon Sanjiv Goenka are interested to own a team each in the glamorous Indian Premier League (IPL). MS Dhoni and Goenka, as informed by a reliable source, have informed the Board of Control for Cricketin India (BCCI) that they are capable of owning a team in the contest. The base price for the same is 40 crore. Sanjeev Goenka is the owner of the renowned RPG Sanjeev Goenka group and expressed his interest in buying a team other than Kolkata as the city already has its own team called Kolkata Knight Riders that is co-owned by Shah Rukh Khan.
Interestingly, Goenka is close to former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly as he co-owns the football team Atletico de Kolkata in Indian Super League (ISL). According to NDTV Sports, Goenka was advised by Ganguly to invest in cricket. According to a source close to BCCI, the team can be from Ahmedabad, Kanpur or Indore. Besides Goenka, current skipper of Indian ODI cricket team MS Dhoni also is keen to own a team. He is being backed by Ranchi based industrialists. The companies include Mittals, Videocon and JSW Steel amongst them. Dhoni, for the past years of IPL, has been playing for Chennai Super Kings. The franchise recently got banned for the upcoming two seasons of the tournament and at this point, it will be interesting to see how Dhoni finds his way to the event and if he plays or just maintains the role of owner.
