It is the start of a new chapter for the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the addition of two new teams, which will make the tournament a 10-team affair from the upcoming 2022 season. The two new IPL franchises will be based out of Ahmedabad and Lucknow, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Monday. CVC Captial Partners, a private equity and investment advisory firm, won the bid for the Ahmedabad team, while the RPSG Group, an Indian conglomerate, won the bid for the Lucknow franchise.
RPSG Group’s winning bid was of Rs. 7090 crore while that of CVC Capital was Rs. 5625 crore, the BCCI revealed in a press release.
“The BCCI is happy to welcome two new teams from the next season of the Indian Premier League. I would like to congratulate RPSG Ventures Ltd. & Irelia Company Pte Ltd for being the successful bidders. The IPL will now go to two new cities in India viz in Lucknow and Ahmedabad,” BCCI president Sourav Ganguly stated in the press release.
“I am thrilled for the people of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat as the long wait is over and they will now have their own IPL team. My best wishes to the two new teams,” said BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
This is not the first time that RPSG Group has made a foray into sports. The group had earlier owned IPL franchise Rising Pune Supergiant (2016-17 seasons), and currently are majority owners of Indian Super League (ISL) ATK Mohun Bagan.
The bidding process for the two new teams in the IPL took place in Dubai on Monday, with the two highest bidders winning the franchise rights.
With the additions of Ahmedabad and Lucknow, the IPL from next year will now be a 10-team tournament.
