IPL franchises will recover their money: Modi

Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi did not expect today's bidding to generate an amount so staggering but he assured the franchise owners that there is no reason why they cannot make profit.

Sahara (USD 370 million) and Rendezvous (USD 333.33 million) paid a total of USD 703 million -- nearly Rs 3,235 crore -- to bag the Pune and Kochi franchises respectively and the amount is bigger than the collective worth of Rs 2,840 of the original eight franchises.

"I was indeed a little bit surprised by the amount.

Honestly speaking, I thought the winning bid would be USD 300-320 million. So it was USD 40-50 million higher than my expectation. The bidders must have done their numbers well," Modi said.

He, however, assured that the franchisees can make enough money out of the league.

(PTI)