What Praful sent Tharoor: IPL CEO’s grim forecast for franchise biz

For,the Excel sheet — whose contents Patel told The Indian Express he was not aware of — clearly underlines why and how it will be at least 10 years before a new franchise makes any money.

These projections of an average IPL franchise’s earnings from 2010 to 2021 were emailed to Patel’s office by none other than IPL chief executive officer Sundar Raman through IPL’s hospitality manager Poorna Patel,who is the Civil Aviation Minister’s daughter. From Patel’s office,this email was sent to Tharoor on March 19,just two days before bids were to open for the two franchises on offer.

Both Poorna Patel and Sundar Raman did not respond to messages or calls by The Indian Express.

The email assumes significance when Patel and the NCP are on the backfoot denying allegations they were batting for select IPL bidders. Patel claimed the projections were available to all bidders and he only shared it with Tharoor,a friend.

According to IPL CEO Sundar Raman’s projections,it’s only in 2021 that a franchise will register a positive cash flow or earnings before interest,depreciation,taxes and amortisation (EBITDA).

From 2011 to 2020,the franchise will have to live with losses running into tens of crores each year. Accumulated losses in the first 10 years: Rs 612 crore.

Clearly,Tharoor,the Kochi investors and Rendezvous — part-owned by his “friend” Sunanda Pushkar — were not to be put down by this bleak outlook.

Despite projections of continuous losses,Rendezvous and other investors bid and won the Kochi Team for $333.33 million,roughly the estimated cumulative turnover of Rs 1,600 crore over 11 years between 2011 and 2021.