Indian Premier League anger after board cuts IMG

High-profile owners of team franchises in the Indian Premier League have reacted furiously to the Indian cricket board's decision to snap ties with event management company IMG, reports said on Monday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday terminated its contract with the International Management Group which helped it launch the lucrative Twenty20 league in 2008.

Business tycoon Mukesh Ambani and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, both owners of IPL franchisees, have shot off angry letters to the BCCI.

"I am personally shocked at the unilateral decision of doing away with the services of IMG," the Times of India quoted Ambani, who owns the Mumbai Indians team, as saying in his letter.

"It is also worrying to me that such a significant decision in relation to IPL has been taken without even so much as consulting the franchises.

"I strongly believe that this decision, if taken forward, will destroy substantial value for all the stakeholders, especially the franchises and dilute the success of IPL in the coming years."

Kolkata Knight Riders owner SRK said IMG had been "an integral part of the tournament management and its success so far" and questioned the logic of the board in ending the deal.

The BCCI had entered into a preliminary agreement with IMG in 2008 to promote and manage IPL's affairs. IMG was to be paid 10 percent of the tournament's gross revenue as commission.

But the board felt the amount was "disproportionate to services rendered".