BCCI floats tenders for 2 new IPL teams

● The IPL, which is currently an eightteam tournament, will become a 10team affair from the next edition and during a recent governing council meeting, the modalities of the bidding process were chalked out.

● The BCCI on Tuesday also invited bids to own an IPL franchise with “Invitation to Tender” available for purchase until October 5.

New Delhi, Aug. 31: The Indian cricket board could soon get richer by at least

`5000 crore with the addition of two new franchises during the 2022 edition of Indian Premier League.

The IPL, which is currently an eight-team tournament, will become a 10team affair from the next edition and during a recent governing council meeting, the modalities of the bidding process were chalked out.

The BCCI on Tuesday also invited bids to own an IPL franchise with “Invitation to Tender” available for purchase till October 5.

“Any company can buy the bid document paying Rs 10 lakh. Earlier top brass was thinking about keeping the base price for two new teams at `1700 crore but later it was decided to keep the base price at

`2000 crore,” a senior BCCI source said on the condition of anonymity.

The source, who has dealt with the financial side of IPL in the past, said that the BCCI stands to gain at least `5000 crore if the bids go as per plan with plenty of large business conglomerates showing active interest in bidding.

“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 winwin situation for everyone.”

The BCCI statement added: “The Governing Council of the IPL invites bids to acquire the right to own and operate 1 (one) of the 2 (two) new teams proposed to be introduced to take part in the Indian Premier League from the IPL 2022 season, through a tender process.

“Any interested party wishing to submit a bid is required to purchase the ITT. However, only those satisfying the eligibility criteria set out in the ITT and subject to the other terms and conditions set out therein, shall be eligible to bid. It is clarified that merely purchasing this ITT does not entitle any person to bid,” it added.

It is learnt that only companies with an annual turnover of ` 3000 crore will be allowed to bid for the teams.

In a welcome news, the BCCI is planning to allow a consortium to bid for teams as it makes the bidding process more vibrant.