Tendulkar to have stake in Mumbai team?

Sachin Tendulkar could have a stake in the ownership of the Mumbai team that will be part of the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to reports in the media.

The Kishore Biyani-owned Future Group, which has expressed an interest in becoming a franchisee of the IPL, is in talks with Tendulkar to jointly bid for the Mumbai side, a report in the Economic Times said.

The Future Group and the Manipal Group, the report said, have already entered into a joint venture with Tendulkar for their new sports initiative; the launch of a variety of products in the health supplement, sports goods, fitness equipment and lifestyle accessories categories.

The products are set to be marketed under names S Drive and Sach, which would be retailed across the multiple Future Group formats like Big Bazaar, Central, Planet Sports and Manipal Cure & Care.

A stake in the Mumbai team would ensure Tendulkar a fixed fee on an annual basis and a variable component depending on the team's profits. It would also mean that the team could use Tendulkar's presence to attract other cricketers.

However, Future Group and Tendulkar's management team have both brushed aside these suggestions.

Rajiv Shukla, BCCI vice-president and a member of the IPL's governing council, also ruled out the possibility of Tendulkar owning a team. "He [Tendulkar] is playing, so where does the question of buying a team comes from? When someone is playing, how can he buy a team?" Shukla told Times Now, a news channel. MP Pandove, the BCCI's joint secretary, expressed similar views: "Any player contracted with the board can't have stakes in participating teams."

The IPL is scheduled to be held next April and the sale of its television rights in the near future is expected to see stiff competition. The IPL governing council has invited three broadcasters - ESPN-Star, Nimbus Sports and Sony Entertainment Television - for a presentation concerning the rights on November 17.