The Indian Premier League is set to become a 10-team tournament, starting 2022. The BCCI has invited bids for new franchises.
The Board of Control for Cricket has announced the bidding process for the two new franchises on Tuesday, with the interested parties required to buy the tender document by October 5. Later the Premier League governing body will conduct a technical evaluation before selling the new franchises.
It is learnt that the minimum bid amount for each of the new franchises is set at INR 2000 crores, and the successful candidates will own the franchises for perpetuity. Six cities are in the running for getting the base for two new franchises, including Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati and Pune. Ahmedabad and Lucknow are believed to be the front runners.
While announcing the bidding process, the BBCI did not reveal details about whether the bids will be made in a sealed envelope or via an e-auction. They have not specified the date by when the teams will be unveiled.
The BCCI informed that interested parties can buy more than one bid document, priced at INR 10 lakhs, however, they would be allowed to own only one team.
The IPL Governing Council may have finalised the decision to add two new teams on Monday, but it’s a move that has been in the pipeline for over two years. The BCCI had received the green signal from the state associations at an annual general meeting in 2020.
How will the 10-team IPL shape up?
The Indian Premier League had consisted of 10 teams in the past in 2011, when Kochi Tuskers and Pune Warriors India were added to the existing pool of eight teams. The board has confirmed that the 2022 edition and onwards, the league will be played in the same 2011 format, comprising 74 matches.
Going by the 2011 format, the 10 teams will be split into two groups, with 70 matches in the league stage and four playoff matches. However, on the points table, all the teams will be ranked in one composite group.
The number of matches each team plays in the league stage (14) will not be reduced. Each team will play against the four teams in their own group twice – home and away, while competing twice against one team in the other group and play once with the remaining four teams. A random draw will decide the group and the fixtures with the other group.
The last time the IPL had more than eight teams was in 2013 when nine teams featured in the tournament and played 76 matches. The BCCI had conducted bidding for new franchises in 2015 as well when Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two years and needed to be replaced.
Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions were the two new franchises – bought by New Rising and Intex, respectively. Sanjeev Goenka’s consortium had bid INR -16 while the mobile company Intex had bid -10 as per the reverse bidding model the board had devised.
As per the model, the bidders were required to bid a sum lower than the base price of INR 40 crore – the maximum amount the BCCI would pay to the new owner from its central revenue pool, where the lowest bid claimed the ownership.
Meanwhile, the 2021 edition of the IPL will resume on September 19 with a clash between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. The remaining 31 matches are set to be played in the UAE, with the final taking place on October 15.
