IPL 2021 is all set to commence in March 2021. This means that there’s barely 3 to 4 months for it to start. To make it more exciting, it has been learnt that there might he 2 new teams this time around. Soon after the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) concluded, rumours of two new teams being added ahead of the 14th edition started to surface. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) remained coy when it came to making an official comment on the matter, it has now been understood that the board is set to approve the addition of two new franchises.
According to Crickbuzz, the approval will be done at the BCCI Annual General Meeting, set to be held on December 24. A notice with regards to the same has already been sent to affiliated units by the BCCI, signed by secretary Jay Shah. According to a report in Sportstar, the IPL teams’ issue has been listed in the agenda for the 89th AGM for which the notice was circulated by secretary Jay Shah. The report further accessed the fact that approval on inclusion of two new teams to the Indian Premier League for the 2021 edition of the tournament. According to various media reports, there is one team expected from Ahmedabad and other reports suggest that a ninth team could be owned by either Mohanlal or Salman Khan. Recent rumours suggest that the ninth team could he based in Gujrat. Recently, the Motera stadium in Gujarat underwent a renovation which increased the capacity to 110,000, making it the largest stadium as per capacity. According to The Hindu report, the full auction is being planned since “the BCCI has plans to add a ninth team” for the 2021 edition. The Sportstar report also stated that the BCCI will also try and offer stake or a team to promoters of the now-defunct Kochi franchise as a compensatory measure. The BCCI owes more than Rs 5000 crore to Kochi promoters after a court-appointed arbitrator ruled against the board for wrongful termination.
There are reports that BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has hinted to the franchises to prepare for a mega-auction which could take place in early 2021. A couple of days ago, there was a report in The Hindu that a ninth team could be included in IPL 2021 as the BCCI looks to recover the losses that it incurred while hosting IPL 2020 in UAE. The ninth team could be based in Gujarat.