BCCI postpones IPL media rights bidding process due to 'absence of permission'

"In the absence of permission from the Committee to go ahead with the process scheduled for tomorrow, the BCCI is unable to do so,” a cricket board statement on Monday said.

"The BCCI requests all bidders to appreciate that the events as have occurred were unforeseen and something over which the BCCI has no control. The potential bidders would appreciate that in the past the BCCI has responded to all queries to potential bidders in a prompt fashion and has conducted the entire process in a fair, transparent and professional manner.

"As the Committee has been entrusted by the Hon'ble Supreme Court with the mandate of overseeing the tender process and in effect is now the custodian of the IPL tender process and has to take all actions to safeguard the IPL tender and the interest of BCCI and cricket in India, the BCCI wrote to the Committee on 21st October 2016 itself immediately on receipt of the Judgment, inter alia seeking guidance on (a) whether to defer the IPL tender or (b) to cancel the same and (c) requesting that the name of the auditor appointed be intimated to the BCCI to ensure that he could be associated with the IPL tender. Further, BCCI has sent all the IPL Media Rights Tender documents to the Committee along with the Revised MRAs and relevant documents, which are yet to be issued to the Potential Bidders," the statement further said.

As many as 18 companies, including Amazon, Star India, Sony Pictures, and Reliance Jio, had picked up the tender documents for the broadcast and digital rights of the IPL for the cycle starting in 2018.