Finally, it seems the BCCI has come to terms that its intentions of adding two new teams to the mix in the upcoming IPL 2021, is not realistic, with the next edition just 3 months away, if reports are to be believed. Therefore, it may very well be decided that the IPL next year will continue with only 8 teams.
The Board is looking to arrive at the conclusion that new franchises should step into the IPL ecosystem from the 2022 edition onwards. A decision to this effect will be final only after it is ratified at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the BCCI scheduled Ahmedabad on December 24.
"The BCCI could call for the bids in February or March or April - whenever they think the time is right. The adding of new franchises say, stakeholders, will also add value to the 2021 edition once it becomes a talking point. That's the line of thought as of now," sources told Times of India.
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If the decision holds correct, the Board will kill multiple birds with a stone. A) They will be under no obligation to conduct a mega-auction, thus allowing the defending champions Mumbai Indians to "stay champions" for a least five months, and also saving time; B) They will have ample time to float a tender / RFP to re-sell the title rights for IPL - that was sold in September August 2020 to Dream 11 for that edition alone - and thus won't be under any hurry to pack in the new teams; C) The decision will also add impetus to the prospect of floating the media rights tender for the IPL any time after October 2021.
"Two new franchises will obviously have their own share of value when the media rights tender comes along. Also, two more things: First, the central revenue pool for the 2021 season won't be diluted, which means the franchises will be happy; Second, once again 60 matches will be held, which means lesser double-headers, so the broadcaster will be happy," sources added.
The industry is looking forward for BCCI to float tenders for the two new teams and as per earlier reports, corporates to investment funds, bankers, and old-business houses - are all looking to study the tender document, once it comes out, and have underlined their interests to the Board.
"At the end of the day, this is BCCI. Decisions are taken, reversed, altered at the drop of a hat. What we're discussing right now is a realistic step and one that'll turn out to be beneficial later. But then, let's not think of crossing the bridge until we get there," say those in the know.
(Times of India inputs)
