As expected, BCCI has approved two new IPL teams but only from IPL 2022, while the 14th edition of IPL i.e IPL 2021 will be played only with 8 teams.
The decision was taken during the BCCI 89th Annual General Meeting (AGM) today in Ahmedabad. Despite the rumours, the same was sounding impractical primarily because of the limited time-period between IPL 2020 and IPL 2021.
With the latest IPL season concluding only last month, the substantial delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic had it in it to postpone the prospect of including two new teams next season. The same would’ve given too less a time for both the existing eight franchises and two new ones to plan their squads with respect to a mega auction.
Will 10 teams play in Indian Premier League 2021?
In its 89th Annual General Meeting in Ahmedabad, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) have confirmed that IPL 2021 will continue to an eight-team affair.
That being said, the 15th season of the biggest T20 league in 2022 will witness 10 teams battling it out against each other. “There are a lot of modalities that needs to be discussed and most of the stakeholders feel that with IPL being held in April.
There is very little time for a mega auction and to have a uniform retention policy, agreeable to all the existing franchises,” a senior BCCI official told media on conditions of anonymity.
“You have to invite tenders and have a bidding process ready. In case you have two teams winning bids in late January or early February, they need to be given time for auction which can then be held only in March.
That leaves a new team with very little time to plan,” he added. The development further means that there will be a mini-auction before IPL 2021 and that the mega-auction will only happen after adding two new teams before IPL 2022.
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