In a meeting on Saturday, the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI top brass, also including secretary Jay Shah, discussed the execution of many policy decisions that were approved by the IPL Governing Council at the start of 2021. One of the major developments that have been revealed is that two new IPL teams will be auctioned in May, during the upcoming IPL 2021 edition’s final stages.
A senior BCCI source privy to the developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity, “The 10 team IPL will roll on from next year and the bidding process and finalisation of the new franchises will be completed by the month of May this year. Once the teams are finalised, they can start their operational work which takes considerable time.” BCCI is, thus, expected to announce the ODI team for the upcoming series on Sunday (March 14).
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For the unversed, the IPL 2022 season is set to see the expansion of the league, with two new additional teams, but not much is known about the cities that will come forward to form the two new IPL sides in the near future. Even in the 2011 season, IPL was a 10-team affair with the addition of Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTT) and Pune Warriors (PW). However, the very next season saw the termination of KTT following their breach of BCCI’s terms and conditions.
The decision to expand the league was taken following the highly-successful IPL 2020 edition, which took place entirely in UAE amid strict COVID-19 protocols in place for all franchises.
In related news, BCCI is expected to announce the ODI team for the upcoming series on Sunday (March 14).
However, since none of the senior players have demanded rest, chances for Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Paddikal to be added in the squad look slim, in spite of scoring a plethora of runs in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021.
The influential official opined, “The team is expected to be announced tomorrow. Neither skipper Virat Kohli nor his deputy Rohit Sharma has opted for rest. There aren’t many surprises as we prepare for World T20.”
Speaking on Shaw and Paddikal, he added, “They have done exceedingly well but will have to wait for their turn.”
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