Earlier, there was a proposal to organize the IPL tournament with 10 teams, but then the proposal was not implemented due to various reasons. However, this time it has been officially announced that from 2022, IPL will be organized with 10 franchise teams.
The BCCI has invited tenders for two new franchise teams. Interested buyers will have to buy the tender by October 5.
According to the media, the minimum bid to buy a new franchise is Rs 2,000 crore (approx. USD 270 million). Two franchises may be selected from a total of six cities including Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, and Cuttack.
The BCCI states that any interested participant for bidding can purchase more than one bid document at a cost of Rs. 10 lakh. However, he can only own one franchise.
Although the BCCI called for tenders recently, it did not say whether interested buyers would buy them in envelopes or through online auctions. The BCCI did not say when the two franchise teams would be selected.
The IPL Governing Council met on August 31 to decide on two more franchise teams. The BCCI has been working on this for two years. However, this is not the first time an IPL season featuring 10 teams.
The organizing committee had organized a 10-team tournament with Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors in the 2011 IPL edition. They told the media that the structure in which the IPL was organized in 2011 will be followed in 2022. There were 74 home and away matches that year which is expected to happen in the IPL 2022 as well.
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