Adani and RPSG Group in fray to buy new team as BCCI eye expanding IPL

Ever since the thirteenth edition of the IPL came to an end last week, the talks of a new team to be added to the T20 league have gained momentum. The BCCI is reportedly keen to expand the tournament ahead of the next season. According to media reports, the board has been planning about the same for quite some time now and is finally geared up to add the new teams to the eight existing franchises.

The BCCI is likely to release the tenders for the new teams in the coming days. Reports stated that the board was set to bring the tender post Diwali which was celebrated on Saturday (November 14). As of now, there is no clarity on the entire matter as the BCCI has kept things under the wrap. There is speculation that two teams could be added – one in Ahmedabad and another in a Uttar Pradesh city of either Kanpur or Lucknow. Pune is also in the fray.

Adani, Goenka in fray for 9th team

While the BCCI has remained silent on the possibility of adding new teams to IPL ahead of the next season, Bangalore Mirror has reported that the franchises have been informed about the likelihood of one extra team. The report further stated that the Adani Group in Ahmedabad and Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG Group are the two known interested parties. There may be more too.

The franchises have told the BCCI that it should first decide the venue for the next IPL. There is a possibility that the tournament could be held in UAE again if the pandemic situation in India does not improve. The franchises have told the board that they would be better off adding the new team a year later if UAE will be the venue for IPL 2021.

Addition of a new team will make the mega auction mandatory and the franchises are not ready for the same due to lack of time. With the same number of teams, the mega auction can also be deferred by a year. The report also added that the BCCI is not fretting over the venue for IPL 2021 as yet. The board is confident that it can pull off the league in the UAE at short notice if things don’t improve in India.