MUMBAI: A PIL was filed today in the Madras high court bench seeking to direct the government to take over the management and administration of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as it had failed to promote the game.

The PIL has alleged that the conduct of certain activities and receipt of income were totally commercial and there was no element of charity in the conduct of the BCCI. The court has sent a notice to the central government, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla and BCCI president N Srinivasan. They have been asked to respond within two weeks.
 
In his petition, city-based lawyer V Santhakumaresan alleged that conduct of certain activities and receipt of income were totally commercial and there was no element of charity in the conduct of BCCI.

The surplus generated by BCCI was shared with players instead of being used for promoting the game claims the PIL.
 
The court should direct CBI to conduct investigation into the entire affairs relating to sources of income, financial status, betting, and match fixing, lawyer V Santhakumaresan who filed the PIL said. In addition the BCCI should desist from using the name ?Indian cricket team? for its team till disposal of the petition.

MUMBAI: National Geographic Channel (NGC) said it is in the process of shooting a six episode show on IPL will offer a behind the scenes perspective on the event. Titled ?Inside IPL?, the show will reveal the facts behind the massive machinery of the event. The show is expected to air later this year.

From the organisation and preparations for the IPL season 6, to its execution, management, broadcast, players and fans, ?Inside IPL? will give viewers a peek into the making and shaping of India?s largest annual sporting spectacle.

This show is a part of NGC?s ?Inside? programming series which showcases restricted places and behind-the-scenes moments from some of the world?s greatest events.

National Geographic Network and Fox International Channels India MD Keertan Adyanthaya said, "IPL is more than just a cricket tournament, with hundreds of millions of people and billions of rupees being involved. Nat Geo?s ?Inside? series is internationally famed for taking viewers behind the world?s most spectacular places and occurrence. ?Inside IPL? promises to be the viewer?s front row seat and backstage pass to the frenzy, passion and excitement behind this one-of-a-kind sporting and entertainment event."

Asked about the BCCI?s response to the concept he said that the BCCI has welcomed the channel and is providing it with complete access to create this series.

"We are getting complete access to all the venues, personnel, teams, team owners, players and ground organisers who make it possible. The series will be six episodes of an hour each. We will be shooting during the entire duration of IPL 6 and also post the event. In all, it is likely to take us 10 weeks to shoot," he said.

In terms of the choice of the IPL as subject matter he noted that the IPL in India is quite apt as it?s a mega sporting event on a global scale with upwards of a billion eyeballs watching it. "We want to take our discerning audience inside the IPL and show them how it?s crafted and created into a fabulous entertainment spectacle."

Speaking about the association with NGC, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said, "We are very excited to be associated with a prestigious brand like National Geographic Channel for a special series on the Pepsi Indian Premier League. For the team behind the Pepsi IPL, this is a fabulous opportunity to showcase to the league?s loyal fans, the hard work and dedication put forth to make their favourite sporting event a reality."

MUMBAI: After BCCI terminated Deccan Chargers and floated a tender for a new IPL franchise, it is the IPL Governing Council which has decided to meet here on 17 October to chalk out future strategy for the tournament.

IPL GC is expected to discuss the termination of Deccan Chargers for breach of contract.

The meeting also holds significance since it is happening at a time when the 31 October deadline of re-signing players is looming large. All the franchises are expected to renew contracts with their existing players.

"There is a meeting of the IPL Governing Council in Mumbai on October 17th. I don?t know any other details," said BCCI CAO Prof Ratnakar Shetty.

IPL GC is made up of Chairman Rajeev Shukla, Arun Jaitley, Anirudh Chaudhary, Dr G Ganga Raju, Sanjay Patel, Amitabh Choudhary, Ravi Shastri and M P Pandove.

The Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (DCHL), the parent company of Deccan Chargers, was unable to furnish a bank guarantee of Rs 1 billion which meant that its association with IPL ended. The Court had clearly said that the termination notice will stand if DCHL fails to provide Rs 1 billion unconditional and irrevocable bank guarantee.

Following DCHL?s inability to furnish bank guarantee as per Court direction, the arbitrator had passed a status order thereby throwing a lifeline at the beleagured media company.

The status order passed by the arbitrator also gave five more days to DCHl to furnish bank guarante despite the Bombay HC refusing to entertain their plea to extend the deadline. The BCCI had obtained a stay order from the Bombay HC against arbitrators decision thereby dashing its hopes of entering IPL.

The DCHL had on Friday also announced that it was in talks with real estate firm Kamla Lanmarc to sell the franchise. However the deal could go for a toss now that the termination notice is in effect.

The BCCI had on Sunday invited tenders for a new IPL team.

The tender notice for a fresh franchise invites bids for 12 cities: Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Dharamsala, Indore, Kanpur, Kochi, Nagpur, Noida, Rajkot, Ranchi and Visakhapatnam.

The last date for submission of the bids is 25 October. Bids can be collected from today. Under this invitation to tender, the winning bidder will be granted the right to own and operate a new team which will compete in the IPL from 2013 onwards.