The BCCI has extended the deadline for submitting a purchase tender document for new IPL teams

The BCCI on Wednesday extended the deadline for acquiring the tender paperwork for the two new Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisees by another ten days, to October 20, and trustworthy sources indicated the two new franchisees would not be cheap, costing at least Rs 3500 crore each. On August 31, the IPL’s Governing Council issued the ‘Invitation to Tender’ (ITT) document after receiving the non-refundable tender fee of Rs 10 lakh. It had already postponed the deadline until October 10. “In response to demands from a variety of interested parties, BCCI has decided to extend the deadline for purchasing the ITT document till October 20, 2021,” according to a BCCI statement.

For the 2022 edition, the BCCI intends to add two teams, which could be hosted in Ahmedabad, Lucknow, or Pune.

Major corporations including the Kotak Group, Aurobindo Pharma, Torrent Pharma, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, Birla Group, and Adani Group have expressed interest in joining the IPL, which currently has eight teams.

Though the base price for each franchise has been set at Rs 2000 crore, the BCCI is seeking to generate at least Rs 7000 crore.

The Indian cricket board has decided to allow bids to be submitted by three-party consortiums.

The new teams are set to be presented in Dubai on October 25, a day after India’s T20 World Cup match against Pakistan.