IPL 2022 New Teams: Just before the start of IPL 2021 Phase 2 in UAE, picture is getting clear for expanision next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022). The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has zeroed in on the potential cities. With the traditional cricket hubs already playing hosts to franchises, the BCCI aims to take the IPL to two new cities in Hindi-speaking regions to keep a pan-India balance.
The BCCI has short-listed six new cities which will host two new franchises from IPL 2022. It should be noted that the board has already invited tenders for two new teams.
IPL 2022 New Teams: BCCI shortlists six cities for two new franchises for IPL 2022, emphasis on Hindi-speaking regions
IPL 2022 New Teams: As per information available with InsideSport, the new cities are Guwahati, Ranchi, Cuttack, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Dharamsala. As per information available with Insidesport, Ahmedabad is the strongest candidate while Guwahati and Lucknow are contenders for another franchise. The auction process will be finalised next month with BCCI setting Rs 2,000 crore base price for the two new teams.
IPL 2022 New Teams: BCCI wants to cash in on Hindi-speaking regions
The primary reason why is BCCI interested in getting a franchise from the North apart from Delhi and Punjab is cricket’s popularity. As per data, Star Sports, the official broadcaster, 65% of the total viewership of the 4 Billion minutes comes from Hindi-speaking regions. Even in the ongoing India vs England Test series, 50.7% of viewership comes from the same region.
Also Read: IPL 2022 New Teams: BCCI announces tender for two new IPL teams, sets October 5 deadline
As for the Southern region, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chennai Super Kings and the Sunrisers Hyderabad are three franchises. One potential city could have been Kochi but with the pending litigation with the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers franchise, BCCI wants to look at North and Eastern zone.
As for the price, BCCI expects no less than Rs 5,000 crore for the two new franchises.
“The BCCI is expecting anything in the range of 5000 crore if not more. There will be 74 IPL games next season and it’s a win-win situation for everyone. IPL teams are a great investment and have given the initial investors great returns. We don’t think base price of 2,000 Cr is too much and we expect to get 3000-3500 Cr per team”, declared top BCCI official to InsideSport.co.
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