BCCI announced the termination of contracts with International Management Group (IMG) now owned by Endeavor. The UK based sports events company IMG was the event partner of IPL. They are the event manager of IPL since its inception. But BCCI has decided to move on.
A BCCI source said, “The BCCI has, over the years, gained rich experience in running the league and is well-equipped to put in place a world-class team to run the show. Right now, all we can say is that the partnership with IMG has run its course.”
“Relationships kept swinging from sweet to sour every now and then, like any professional set-up. These were qualified individuals, but every journey has to come to an end. This one has also reached its conclusion.”- he added.
According to the reports, when the deal was signed in 2008, IMG was signed on a 27 Cr annual deal. In 2009 they increased to 33 Cr. In 2010 it was again re-negotiated for 28 Cr. In the recent deal in 2017 IMG was given a hike of 40% from the previous fee. But the situation was getting worse between the two parties so BCCI decided to terminate the contract.
The board is now looking for a team of qualified executives to host the IPL 2021. The board may release some tenders for specific tasks and various vendors will be appointed for different roles.
IPL 2021 is scheduled to be started in the second week of April. It will be a tough ask for BCCI to host the league single-handedly within this short period of time.
