The power couple was interested in bidding for an IPL team (Pune) along with Karisma and Sanjay Kapur. A sudden change of rules ruined the plan

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor were to buy an Indian Premier League (IPL) team. Not any more, it seems. The chote nawab is upset that the bidding was cancelled at the last moment and that new regulations were suddenly brought in.

Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan at the bidding. pic/ Datta Kumbhar

The auction took place in Mumbai yesterday. Saif and Kareena were present at the bidding for new teams (Pune, Nagpur and Ahmedabad). It is learnt that the duo along with Kareena's sister Karisma Kapoor and her husband Sanjay Kapur and Videocon's Venugopal Dhoot are interested in buying the Pune team. Now, with the auction being cancelled and a change of rules set to take place, Saif's very upset and isn'tu00a0 interested in bidding anymore.

Says Saif, "Yes, we were interested in buying the Pune team but the bidding process was cancelled and the rules were changed. Kareena and I had submitted our bid and there was one other person but Lalit (Modi) cancelled it. It would've been great if we could have bought the Pune team and entered the IPL as I love cricket too (his dad is one of India's former cricket captains, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi)."

An investment
A fresh auction will now be held eight days later, but the chote nawab may not place a bid. Saif says bluntly, "Whether we will still be interested or not will depend on how the rules have changed and what value the teams will be sold at. It has to be at a certain price. It's an investment for us and we have to buy something that's worth something. We can't end up losing money if it's not a sound investment." Saif feels that there are many

New IPL rules

Earlier only groups with a net worth of $1 billion (approx Rs 4,500+ crores) were proposed to be allowed, and the bidders had to provide a bank guarantee of $100m to just participate in the bidding process. These two clauses have been dropped for the new bidding scheduled for March 21. Modi has now set a new condition that a $10 million advance performance deposit would be submitted 24 hours in advance by March 20. The successful bidders would also need to be ready to pay 10% of the amount that they bid, within 48 hours of being awarded the franchise. The base price of each team would now be $225m . Read More Read Next Story Celeb Diary: Abhay Deol 08-03-2010› Trending Stories Latest Photos Latest Videos Latest Web Stories ADVERTISEMENT Mid-Day Fast ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT