Published: Nov 12, 2020, 02:26 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 12, 2020, 02:26 PM (IST)
The Indian cricket board is reportedly planning to float tender for a new IPL franchise once the Diwali weekend gets over, according to a report. There’s still discussion going on whether to add one or two teams for the next edition of the ultra-popular T20 league due to various concerns.
A decision in this regard could be taken by this weekend though.
“The tender is most likely to come after Diwali, once a decision is taken in this regard. And regardless of whether it’s one franchise or two, if new teams come in then a mega auction cannot be avoided,” the Times of India quoted sources as saying.
Franchises Concerns
Should there be new team(s), the BCCI will have to conduct a mega IPL auction before the next season which is likely to start by March 2021 end.
The small window between IPL 13 and IPL 14 is what’s of concern to several current franchises who think holding a full-fledged auction will not be practical. Additionally, the current window in which the league is conducted may not be able to accommodate the increased number matches if two more teams were to be added.
There will be more matches anyway even if one team was to be added expanding it from 60 to 76 games.
Additionally, industry wants BCCI to add more teams only after it seals a new media rights deal, tender for which will be floated towards the end of 2021. This, it’s been projected, will increase the value of the new franchises.
“BCCI should ideally bring out a tender for new franchises after the media rights tender because they’ll get a higher value. In the middle of this pandemic, it’s always a risky proposition,” the daily quoted sources as saying.
Several corporate giants including the likes of Adani Group, Tata, RPG-Sanjiv Goenka Group among others are interested ion buying IPL franchises.
