Post-IPL 2020 show BCCI starts its work for the IPL 2021 auction. BCCI pinned that it would add an additional team for the upcoming IPL season. The BCCI is planning to bring out a tender for the new franchise(s) soon after the Diwali week gets over.
BCCI plans to play IPL 2021 with 9 teams
A report suggested that BCCI concluded to add one team for now(2021 season) and the other from the 2022 season onwards.
The lack of consensus – on one or two franchises in next edition – continues and a possible solution is likely to emerge over the next 72 hours as the board’s top office-bearers and the league’s governing council gets into a huddle.
IPL new team tender announcement date
If BCCI plans to host the IPL 2021 in March-April duration then BCCI should host the auction in the December-January month. For which BCCI would announce the tender notice as soon as possible.
“The tender is most likely to come after Diwali, once a decision is taken in this regard. And regardless of whether it’s one franchise or two, if new teams come in then a mega auction cannot be avoided,” sources said.
IPL 2020 Possible new team
As reported earlier, the Adani Group, the Tatas and the RPG-Sanjiv Goenka Group are keen to own a franchise in IPL. Leading banker Uday Kotak has also shown interest along with media entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala.
The major three concern for IPL 2021
The existing eight franchises and other stakeholders have three major concerns
- The central revenue pool is unlikely to change until the 2023 edition and therefore, new teams coming in will result in the present revenue cycle getting diluted.
- With the 2021 edition of the league slated to begin anytime between the last week of March and the first week of April, there’s not enough time (just three-and-half months) to do a mega auction.
- If one new franchise is brought in, it will result in 60 matches going up to 76, in the present format. If two new franchises are brought in, the number of matches will go up to 90 and a major concern is that the IPL window is too short to adjust these games.
The industry is watching the developments with keen interest as major changes wait to happen in a league that’s now considered among the hottest sports properties in the world and was last valued by Duff & Phelps to be in excess of US$6 billion.
BCCI plans to maximize its broadcast revenue
“The BCCI will come up with a media rights tender towards the end of 2021. Star’s five-year IPL deal will end with the 2022 season and the board will look to maximize its broadcast revenue,” said industry sources as new digital players like Amazon and Facebook have begun eyeing the cricket market.
They added that “BCCI should ideally bring out a tender for new franchises after the media rights tender because they’ll get a higher value. In the middle of this pandemic, it’s always a risky proposition”.
Also read: Check out the IPL 2021 Auction date
