ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has bagged the telecast rights of the Afro-Asia Cup after Nimbus backed out of the deal citing absence of big names in the tournament.The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has awarded the worldwide rights for telecasting the second edition of the tournament to ESS, the company said in a statement here.ESS, however, declined to reveal the value of the deal.The rights were awarded to ESS due to Nimbus' failure to fulfill contractual obligations, and subsequent cancellation of its contract, the statement said.The Afro-Asia Cup will be held in Bangalore and Chennai in June 2007.ESS will also broadcast the next edition of the Asia Cup to be played in May 2008 in Pakistan.According to reports, Nimbus Sports had bought the rights for three editions of the tournament, first played in 2005 in South Africa, for $12 million."We will not be part of the event in any way," Nimbus chief Harish Thawani had told PTI yesterday. "We will not be telecasting the event. Neither will we be producing nor bringing sponsorship for the matches."
