Time too short for 10 teams in IPL 2021: BCCI official

Time too short for 10 teams in IPL 2021: BCCI official

Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer with IPL trophy

Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer with IPL trophy
Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer with IPL 2020 trophy

Soon after the conclusion of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, the talks of having a 10-team IPL edition in 2021, started coming. This means that two new franchises might come into play to further intensify the competitiveness of the tournament. Moreover, this subject would be further discussed at the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) later this month.

Meanwhile, a BCCI source told InsideSport that the lack of time for the addition of new franchises could postpone it to the 2022 season. Moreover, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic makes it even more difficult for the apex body to induct two teams before 2021.

“Time is too short for the introduction of the new teams for IPL in 2021. Tendering, players auction and most importantly getting all the stakeholders on the same page will be really challenging in a short period. We are of the view, any addition to the team should only happen for IPL 2022”, a BCCI official told InsideSport.

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“Our broadcast rights deal with Star will end by IPL 2021. After the end of the cycle, we should introduce new teams so that the broadcast rights and other commercial partnership values can be increased. The final decision now will be taken in AGM only. And according to me, the plan to increase teams will be shelved this year”.

‘Ten teams mean 94 matches in the home and away format’ 

BCCI
BCCI to take a call on two new IPL teams during AGM 2020

The source further said that having ten teams will mean 94 matches in the home and away format. The BCCI would face difficulty in arranging a bigger window to conduct these games. 

“Ten teams will mean 94 matches in the home and away format. That implies a bigger window for the tournament, which may be tough given the current situation”, said another BCCI official.

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