KPL franchise bids to be opened today

The sealed bids can be submitted no later than 4.00 pm. Each bidder is allowed to bid for three teams, and if he manages to bid successfully for more than one team, he has the right to decide which side he wants to retain. The eight teams that attract the highest bids out of the ten zones up for grabs -- Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Dharwad, Raichur, Tumkur, Shimoga, Bellary, Gulbarga and Belgaum -- will compete in the Twenty20 tournament to be staged at the Chinnaswamy stadium from September 12 to 27.

The organisers have set the minimum bid price at Rs 20 lakh, with the rider that potential buyers must commit to at least five years as team owners. It will be interesting to see what kind of bid amounts are proferred, given the lead-up to the bidding process that has included seminars for prospective franchisees, and a thumbs-down to the league from former India stars Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath.

The player auction has been slated for August 14, when team owners will use the Rs 10 lakh at their disposal -- the figure has swelled from the initial Rs 6 lakh -- to procure players from within the State.