What Will a Ten-Team Indian Premier League Look Like?

What Will a Ten-Team Indian Premier League Look Like?

The talks of bringing in two new teams to the Indian Premier League (IPL) aren’t exactly new anymore. This topic has loomed over the biggest cricket tournament worldwide for a while now and it was just last year when the Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI) confirmed that they will indeed add new franchises to the league.

It was initially thought that the current season will already have ten teams. However, the BCCI decided that it should be the 2022 IPL edition that will carry out the changes. The BCCI is surely busy with everything that’s happening. Phase two of the VIVO IPL 2021 is just a few weeks away. Fans are getting ready to find ways to stream the matches live and would also visit 10CRIC for the best IPL Betting odds. 

While people are still focused on the current IPL season, many just can’t help but think about what the IPL will look like next year. The season will be longer and there will be more matches. No details about the 2022 IPL season are released just yet but more details on the additional teams are starting to surface.

BCCI is Already Accepting Bids for the New Teams

Recently, the BCCI has already rolled out the tender document to invite bids for the two new franchises. The bidding regulations are not public yet but the base price for the new teams was likely set at Rs.2000 crore. 

It is also reported that there is a limit on not more than three businesses to come together to form a consortium to qualify. Companies that want to bid should also have an annual turnover of more than Rs.3000 crore. 

A BCCI official who wants to remain anonymous spoke about their expectations about the bidding of the new teams. The official said, “We are expecting bids above R3000 crore for each team. PL is ripe for expansion. We have carefully built the brand over the years. Just the way the existing franchises have moved to profit-making, so will the new teams. IPL is a property to stay invested in.”

When it comes to how many matches the tournament will have with 10 teams, the official only said, “74 matches are what we are promising at the moment. When the new rights cycle kicks in 2023, we will try to expand to 94 matches a season, after consulting with other cricket boards regarding an expanded playing window.”

Not The First Time

It’s not the first time that the IPL will be participated by a total of 10 teams. The 2011 or fourth edition of the league had 10 teams with Pune Warriors India and the Kochi Tuskers Kerala added to the mix. However, after this season, the IPL committee terminated their contract with Kochi Tuskers Kerala after breaching the terms and conditions. 

The IPL’s experience with Kochi Tuskers Kerala might be the main reason why only up to three businesses are allowed to form a consortium as KTK had around seven businesses involved in total. Based on reports, the shareholders of the said franchise dealt with factionalism and infighting. 

Meanwhile, the Pune Warriors were still able to participate in the 2012 edition of the IPL. The following year, however, the franchise withdrew from the tournament and stated that they have financial differences with the BCCI.

Pune Warriors and BCCI seem to also have quite a debacle before the termination of their partnership. In 2012, Sahara withdrew the team from the tournament just hours away from that year’s IPL auction which was a major blow to the BCCI and the league itself. They boycotted the said auction and it was reported that it had something to do with the franchise fee that they paid.

According to Sahara, they were under the notion that the 2011 IPL will have a total of 94 matches but the BCCI reduced it to 74. Sahara then demanded the fee be reduced. Eventually, all these were settled but during the 2013 season, Sahara once again withdrew from the IPL. The BCCI said that it had something to do with the team encasing their guarantee after Sahara defaulted on paying the whole franchise fee. The BCCI and the franchise still had quite some trouble after this and it was in October 2013 when their contract was officially terminated by the BCCI.

Surely, the BCCI has learned a lot from these experiences and they are likely to be stricter when it comes to choosing the right bids for the two new teams. What we’re certain of is that next year’s IPL will be longer with at least 74 matches. The Invitation to Tender for bids will only be available by October 5. Reports suggest that the BCCI could decide in the same month. This means that we’re close to knowing which teams will be added for next year. 

We hope you enjoyed the article ‘What Will a Ten-Team Indian Premier League Look Like?’ What regions do you think should be added to the IPL? Let us know!

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