Ness Wadia, Punjab Kings co-owner, expects each of two new teams in the IPL – set to be announced by the BCCI on October 25 after a team auction – to be sold for not less than 3,000 to 3,500 cr.
Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia feels Rs 2000 crore base price for two new IPL teams is a conservative number that should go up by 50 to 100 per cent during bidding.
Ness Wadia Thinks Each New Team Would Go For A Minimum Of 3000-3500 Crores
Punjab Kings, who are almost out of playoffs contention this season, are again expected to build a squad from scratch, having failed in their pursuit of success repeatedly, as they are one of the teams yet to win an IPL.
“The value of each of the new teams should be 50 to 75% more than the base price of Rs 2000 cr. I think each team would go for a minimum of 3,000 to 3,500 cr,” Ness Wadia said.
He welcomed the addition of the new teams to the current eight-team IPL.
“I’m excited about two new teams coming in because it will add a new dimension to the league. It will bring in a much wider base of viewership. I believe that it will add a lot of opportunity to not only several other cricketers but will bring in a lot of income to coaching staff and owners. More importantly, it will enhance the number of games in the IPL, so the fans will get a lot more cricket to watch,” said Ness Wadia.
The IPL player auction would be a mega auction as it will be interesting to see how many players each franchise would be allowed to retain, now that there would be two new teams in the mix.
“It should be fair and equitable, especially to the two new teams coming in. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens from that perspective,” he said.
While several teams will try to retain their top players, there will still be players who’ll be hot property in the auction.
“We don’t know what the retention or right to match will be. We’ll see (things) based on that. I think there are several players which teams will be gunning for,” said Ness Wadia.
He hailed the BCCI’s decision to schedule two IPL matches at the same time on the final day of the league phase so that no team has an extra advantage in terms of knowing what to do in their last league match.
“I think the BCCI’s objective has always been to have a balanced and equitable standing and positioning for each of the teams. It’s a good decision. I congratulate them for being so pro-active,” said Ness Wadia.
The KL Rahul-led side is sitting at the fifth position in the IPL 2021 points table with 10 points from 13 games, and their habit of losing games from winning positions will definitely come to haunt them. They have played a game extra, and Kolkata Knight Riders winning against Sunrisers Hyderabad has also made their chances bleak.
Ness Wadia Opens Up On Chris Gayle’s Decision To Leave PBKS Bio-Bubble, Nicholas Pooran’s Poor Form
Ness Wadia expressed sympathy for ‘Universe Boss’ West Indies veteran batsman Chris Gayle, who, citing bubble fatigue, decided to leave the Punjab Kings bio-bubble in UAE midway to take a break for the forthcoming T20I World Cup.
“We respect his decision and totally understand and sympathize with him. The bubble is a very difficult place and we’re grateful, thankful and respectful of all our players and we do know that they compromise a lot of their life by spending time in the bubble, and we salute each of our players for doing so,” said Ness Wadia.
He was disappointed by the poor form of West Indies’ batting gun Nicholas’ Pooran, who has managed to put together just 85 runs in 12 matches averaging 7.72.
“Pooran’s form has been disappointing. However, he’s a world-class player and I’m sure that he’ll bounce back, learn from his shortcomings in this IPL season, and do well for the West Indies and club. I’m sure that he’ll be an improved player, and will understand that his role is critical in the team. He’ll understand that he has the potential to do greater things. It’s just about optimizing his talent,” said Ness Wadia.
Skipper KL Rahul has evolved into an all-format leading player for India. His evolution is pleasing to the Punjab Kings’ co-owner. KL Rahul is the leading run-scorer in IPL 2020 (670 runs) and IPL 2021 so far (528 runs).
“KL’s evolution is definitely pleasing. Firstly from an India perspective. He’s a wonderful all-round player. I’m so happy for him and the Indian team. I’m sure that he’ll go from strength to strength,” he said.
Ness Wadia also opened up about the change in the franchise’s name from Kings XI Punjab to Punjab Kings.
“The board felt that it was important to change the name after playing with the same name for 14 years. We felt that I was a good change to bring in, so we did that,” Ness Wadia said.
Punjab Kings have lost a few games from winning positions. For example, in a league match against the Rajasthan Royals, they needed 15 off the final two overs, with eight wickets in hand. These kinds of close defeats snatched from certain victories have left the team’s co-owner disappointed.
“It’s a bit disappointing. We should’ve done better, and I’m sure that we will. I’m sure that the players are well aware of their responsibilities, required focus, and improvement in closing out of games. But there’s a lot of pressure, and one does understand that,” Ness Wadia said.
Youngsters pacer Arshdeep Singh and spinner Ravi Bishnoi have shown tremendous promise.
“I think that India has a wonderful bunch of players. If India were to play with two cricket teams, we’d still be in the top five in the world. That’s the kind of talent we have,” concluded Ness Wadia.
The only possible way for Punjab Kings will be to win their remaining game at first by a considerable margin as it will keep them in the race for the playoff spot. But it won’t be easy as their next fixture will be against Chennai Super Kings. They will also have to hope that Kolkata Knight Riders lose the game to RR by a huge margin.