New IPL team may play matches in UAE

A spokesman for the consortium that bought into the Kochi franchise has admitted that they would be keen to play some games here in front of the local expatriates.

DUBAI // A member of the consortium that will own the Indian Premier League's new Kochi team would like to see some games played in the UAE, according to his spokesman. Rendezvous Sports World, a group of businessmen including Harshad Mehta, who is based in Dubai, have signed a multimillion-dollar deal for the IPL franchise in Kerala. The price, US$333m (Dh1.2bn), is the second-highest for an IPL side.

"Yes, we would like to see IPL go overseas," said PT Keshav, the spokesman for Mr Mehta. "We would be glad to promote as much as possible in the UAE, wherever the appeal is." Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, recently alluded to the possibility of some matches being played outside India "in the future". A stadium in the UAE could be a logical place for matches during Kerala's inaugural season next year. The team will be based in Kochi, in Kerala state, but that city does not have a world-class cricket stadium. However, one may be built in time for the 2012 season.

Many members of the UAE's expatriate Indian population are natives of Kerala. "We are glad to take it up with the IPL management as and when possible," said Mr Keshav. "At the end of the day, we will be following what the league requires us to do." According to Mr Keshav, Mr Mehta saw an opportunity when the IPL announced that it would add two franchises to the current line-up of eight teams for the 2011 season.

"We had been looking seriously at this deal for the last couple of months and got our bid in when the time was just right," Mr Keshav said. "It was an opportunity we wanted to take." Mr Mehta is an avid cricket fan and long-time member of the Mumbai Cricket Association's managing committee. He is also the chairman of the Dubai operations of the jewellery company Rosy Blue Diamond. His family has been based in the UAE since 2003.

Pooja Gulati, the director of Rendezvous Sports World, said he saw the meagre cricketing reputation of Kerala as an opportunity. "Cricket is now popular throughout India and it does not matter if Kerala is not known for cricket," he said. "The new IPL team will change that notion." "IPL will introduce Kerala to the game of cricket," said George Abraham, the deputy resident editor of The New Indian Express, a daily newspaper in Kochi.

"It will not only boost the game but also the infrastructure of the state. It will bring new economic opportunities to the state." Mr Abraham said he hoped the IPL franchise would speed up the process of bringing a new cricket stadium to the state. Mr Modi said: "A new ground in Kochi will go into construction soon. Until that is ready, IPL will provide an alternate venue." The Kerala Cricket Association has acquired 23 acres near Kochi. Although it has not been announced when the construction will begin, the association said the stadium would be ready before 2012.

The Rendezvous consortium had attracted little attention before its bid, Mr Abraham said. "No one noticed their moves," he said. "All eyes were on other bidders", like the film director Priyadarshan and the Malayalam actor Mohanlal, well known in Kerala. Mr Abraham said the Bollywood figures "backed out of the auction due to technical reasons". Mr Abraham suggested that Shashi Tharoor, the federal minister of state for external affairs, had been instrumental in advising the Rendezvous consortium.

Mr Tharoor, however, has denied any role in the bidding process. He said his only priority was "transforming Kerala" through the new IPL team. Only one of the team's co-owners, Vivek Venugopal, is from Kerala. He is a director of the Elite group, a company based in Thrissur, in central Kerala, which is best known for food processing. Mr Venugopal has assured cricket lovers in Kerala that he would pick at least six players in his IPL team from the state.

Although the new team could help to buoy Kerala's flagging economy, not all in the state were enthusiastic about the approach of IPL, which plays Twenty20 cricket, a faster, and some say brasher, cousin of the traditional long-form game. The sport has strong links within the entertainment industry, including with Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood superstar who is also owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders team.

"Those who invested money in the IPL look only for profits," said PT Usha, a former world-class sprinter from Kerala. "The players will never feel that they are representing the country. The love for sports gets lost." @Email:[e-mail]