The Sun Group, owner of the Bangalore franchise in the Indian Super League (ISL), Wednesday officially opted out of the maiden leg of the tourney slated to begin early October.
The announcement came in the form of a joint statement issued by the Sun Group, as also league organisers IMG Reliance and Star India.
"This decision was taken on the mutual consent of Sun Group and IMG-Reliance and Star India, the organisers of the league. Sun Group arrived at the decision after internal deliberation and discussion," said the joint statement.
Speculations about the Sun Group pulling out of the ISL were doing the rounds for quite some time. However, the joint statement gave no reasons for the decision.
With the Sun Group moving out, the franchise is likely to be shifted to Chennai. The names of Ronnie Screwvala, founder of media and entertainment group UTV, and actor Abhishek Bachchan are being heard as the probable buyers of the franchise.
IMG-Reliance and Star India assured that all the 14 Indian players drafted earlier for the Bangalore franchise will have their representation in the ISL.
The lucrative tournament, scheduled to run from early October to December, will feature eight franchises.