Saved Rs 100 crore in IPL 2011: Chirayu Amin

Chirayu Amin, the IPL chairman, has said the stripped down version of the league in 2011, compared to the extravagance of previous seasons, has helped save Rs 100 crore ($22.5 million). Amin, who took over running the IPL after Lalit Modi was ousted, also said there was no chance of expanding the tournament further from its present format of ten teams because the window in the schedule would not permit it.

"It has been a good stint [as chairman] as we have been running the league professionally. The governing council is being run like a professional company with complete transparency," Amin told the Times of India. "Now, every decision is taken jointly after discussion, which was not the case earlier. Each and every tender is opened in the presence of lawyers and bidders.

"Apart from bringing in transparency, we made it a point to stop unnecessary expenditure and spent money more judiciously. These measures alone have helped us save Rs 100 crore in IPL 4."

One of the expenditures that has been stopped is the IPL parties, which were held after almost every game in previous seasons and worsened the hectic playing and travelling schedule of the teams. "In fact, the franchise owners are happy that we stopped the parties," Amin said. "They feel that the players will now be able to maintain their focus more on cricket. IPL is more about cricket."

Amin hoped that the revenues from IPL 2011 would be greater than in previous seasons. "The opening ceremony of IPL IV received maximum TRPs and the games have received more viewership than last year. Also, Volkswagen joined in as additional sponsor and we hope our revenues are higher this year, which means more money for state associations."