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Kevin Pietersen suited to IPL franchise owner Vijay Mallya's lavish lifestyle


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Kevin Pietersen will fit into the highliving lifestyle of his Bangalore team owner Vijay Mallya India's seventh richest man. More... Kevin Pietersen suited to IPL franchise owner Vijay Mallya's lavish lifestyle Whether their talent is for making money, dancing, acting or simply being more ruthless than the next man, India's wealthy never lack for attention. By Nick Hoult in Goa Last Updated: 12:28PM GMT 06 Feb 2009 When you add cricket into the mix then the level of hype spirals quicker than the bids in Friday's Indian Premier League auction room. The owners of the eight IPL franchises were gathered in clusters inside the Fort Aguada Ballroom to wave their flashing red bats whenever they chose to cast a bid. Wearing a vibrant red shirt, which looked as if it was bought from one of Goa's beach hawkers, was Vijay Mallya, the owner of the Bangalore team and one of India's richest men. Mallya has made his money from his Kingfisher brewery and airline and now has the toys all self respecting billionaire's crave - a Formula One team and India's equivalent of a Premier League football club. Following the bidding process Mallya is now Kevin Pietersen's latest boss and certainly the most generous employer he will ever have. Mallya's personal fortune is estimated at $1.2 billion and in 2008 he was ranked as India's seventh richest man. With a bloodstock farm and a fleet of vintage cars, Mallya knows how to spend his money and the parties he hosts on his yacht, the Indian Empress, are legendary in India. KP should fit right in to the Mallya world. But Mallya's wealth is dwarfed by that of Mukesh Ambani, the man who pays Sachin Tendulkar's wages at the Mumbai Indians. Ambani represents regal, old Indian money. His family own Reliance Industries, the oil drilling company rated as one of the world's most successful businesses with a turnover in the region of $35.9 billion. Mukesh was too busy to attend the auction so sent his wife on the ultimate shopping spree instead. Nita Ambani was not shy with her husband's money. A cool $950,000 was spent on South African JP Duminy. Mukesh will not be too upset with Mrs Ambani. He has another $45 billion to fall back on. Andrew Flintoff made a powerful new friend when he was bought by the Madras Super Kings for $1.55 million. Owned by N Srinivasan, the secretary of the BCCI and cement gazillionaire, Flintoff will be at the heart of a team many see as the best in the IPL. No pressure there then. But boardroom billionaires are not enough to create a media stir in India. What is needed is a pretty face. That is provided by the IPL's Bollywood babes. Pretty Zinta, the actress, is part owner with her boyfriend in the Kings XI Punjab, the team based in her home city of Chandigarh. With Yuvraj Singh as captain, Kings XI are the IPL's glamour boys and it is there that Ravi Bopara will spend a month in April. Below the fragile exterior lurks a powerful business mind and Zinta is a vociferous defender of women's rights in India. She won a national bravery award when she testified against the Mumbai mafia gangs who hold a grip on the Bollywood industry. Cricket really must feel like a hobby. Her position as the IPL's number one female attraction though has been challenged this week by Shilpa Shetty, a fellow Bollywood actress but better known in Britain as winner of Celebrity Big Brother. Having been insulted by Jade Goody is perhaps one unusual way of preparing to work with Shane Warne, the captain and coach of the Rajasthan Royals, the team she bought a stake in on Monday. Shetty was the public face of the Royals today although judging by her answers, she may have to brush up on the career of Tyron Henderson, the Middlesex journeyman her team are about to pay $650,000 a year. However, Shetty and Zinta are dwarfed in their fame by Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders and the most recognisable face in India. SRK had a novel way of attracting fans to Eden Gardens last year. He promised before every match to perform a dance. What prevented this show stopping moment was the fact the West Bengal government would slap the team with a hefty entertainment tax if SRK got his dancing shoes out. He kept his feet shackled but SRK's name alone was enough to earn Kolkata millions of rupees from merchandising and shirt sales. In the end, that is what it's all about

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