Reports in India suggest that the rift between the Indian Premier League (IPL) and IMG is over after the two parties successfully renegotiated their contract.

According to the Times of India, the new deal will see the international management agency paid just over US$5.6 million for its services next season, a reduction of some US$1.25 million from the originally stipulated amount.
 
The renegotiation concludes a tricky few weeks for the IPL, the Twenty20 cricket league that has revolutionised the sport in the first two years of its existence, and IMG. At the beginning of this month, news broke that the BCCI, Indian cricket's governing body and the administrative power behind the IPL, had severed its contract with IMG by means of a letter from BCCI secretary N Srinivasan.

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Srinivasan was believed to be unhappy at the level of payment required by IMG, despite having already reduced the company's fee from a reported US$9 million in the inaugural 2008 season of the competition to a reported US$6.9 million for the second season, which took place in South Africa.
 
Originally, many pundits believed the termination was part of an attempt by Srinivasan, who is also the owner of the India Cements Group that owns the Chennai Super Kings IPL franchise, to wrest power from IPL commissioner Lalit Modi.
 
Modi, vice president of the BCCI and the man behind the foundation of the IPL, lost the presidency of the Rajasthan Cricket Association, which he had held since 2005, at the end of February. The unexpected eloctoral defeat, to state government official Sanjay Dixit, has meant that Modi is not allowed to vote during the BCCI's general meetings, despite being vice president until at least 2011 and IPL commissioner until 2013.
 
Modi is the man credited with bringing IMG onboard, having developed the idea for the tournament with IMG senior vice president Andrew Wildblood. Srinavasan's letter of termination, therefore, had been widely billed as a move in the tug-of-war power battle that is developing between the two BCCI heavyweights.

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Sony, the IPL's official broadcaster, and the majority of the franchise-owners were quick to voice their complaints. Chief amongst them was the Mumbai Indians franchise owner Mukesh Ambani. "I am personally shocked at the unilateral decision of doing away with the services of IMG," Ambani said. "We are only two seasons old, and we need the continued participation and support of the most capable partners globally to take IPL from strength to strength."
 
Ambani was also critical of the BCCI: "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 franchisees. I strongly believe that this decision, if taken forward, will destroy substantial value for all the stake holders, especially the franchisees and dilute the success of IPL in the coming years," he said.
 
Having not initially been willing to renegotiate with the league again, IMG were brought back to the table through the efforts of Sharad Pawar, vice president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and former president of the BCCI.
 
The latest news, if and when it is confirmed, will bring a sigh of relief on the behalf of both parties. Despite being only two years old, the IPL is now valued at some US$1.6 billion as a stand-alone entity.
 
The third season of the IPL is scheduled to start on 12th March next year. The competition, currently between eight city franchises, is due to expand to 10 teams for 2011, when a fresh player auction will take place.