Spice Telecom, Bajaj Capital in ICL's bag

Subash Chandra's Indian Cricket League (ICL) can breathe a sigh of relief.

According to sources, the breakaway league has managed to rope in Spice Telecom and Bajaj Capital as ground sponsors. Reliance Communications and Manikchand Group may also come on board soon.

With Spice Telecom and Bajaj Capital coming ion as ground sponsors, ICL is left with two more ground sponsor slots to fill. Executives are believed to be asking for around Rs 3 crore for ground sponsorship, while it is quoting nearly Rs 2 crore for team sponsorship.

The status on the six teams - Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Hyderabad - sponsors is still not known. Sources inform that Reliance and Manikchand are likely to sign up in a day or two. However, their nature of association with the league is not clear. It is said that the two

corporates will buy a package deal (a mix of ground sponsorship, team sponsorship and an online association). "Reliance Communications is in dialogue with ICL. Various possibilities (of association) are being explored," said a source close to the deal. ICL is also looking for one television for nearly Rs 75 lakh and six associate sponsors to pay around Rs 48 lakh each.

When contacted, Ashish Kaul, executive vice-president of Zee Entertainment Enterprise and Essel Group spokesperson said, "There has always been an interest for association with ICL. We are in advance stages of signing some very important deals a few hours from now."

The twenty-20 league begins in less than three days.

ICL executives have had a tough time since major advertisers like bottled water maker Bisleri International and Axis Bank backed out. Beer brewer SAB Miller's last-minute backout further added to the troubles.

Currently, ICL has a partnership with apparel brand Provogue for uniforms, Microsoft as its online partner and Thomas Cook as travel partner.

On Monday, the promoters announced that the first 30 minutes of the matches will be telecast live across its 25 channels in India and overseas simultaneously. This initiative is expected to boost on-air spends by advertisers who were shying away since the matches were to be aired only on Zee Sports.