The BCCI on Monday announced that RPSG Ventures Ltd and Irelia Company Pte Ltd (CVC Capital Partners) have won the ownership rights of Lucknow and Ahmedabad teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The RPSG Ventures Ltd were awarded Lucknow as their home base with a winning bid of £709 million. CVC Capital Partners took Ahmedabad as its home base with a second-highest bid of £562.5 million.
“The new franchises will participate in IPL from 2022 season onwards subject to the bidders completing the post-bid formalities as specified in the ITT document. The IPL 2022 season will comprise ten teams and will have 74 matches, wherein each team will play seven home and seven away matche”,” said a release by BCCI.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly expressed his happiness in welcoming two new teams to the IPL fold. “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. It is heartening to see the inclusion of two new teams at such a high valuation, and it reiterates the cricketing and financial strength of our cricket ecosystem.”
“True to IPL’s motto of ‘Where Talent Meets Opportunity’, the inclusion of two new teams will bring more domestic cricketers from our country to the global stage. The ITT process included two interested bidders from outside of India, which strongly emphasises the global appeal of the IPL as a sports property. The IPL is proving to be a wonderful instrument in globalising the game of cricket. I am looking forward to IPL 2022.”
Overall, ten parties entered the fray with bids to own franchises in the IPL. The bidders got a chance to choose from six centres - Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Cuttack, Dharamsala, Guwahati, and Indore - to make their home base. Other bidders for IPL teams included Adani Group, Kotak, All Cargo Logistics, Capri Global, Lancer Capital, Avram Glazer, Hindustan Media Ventures Limited, and Torrent Sports Ventures Pvt Ltd.
“It is a momentous day for all of us and I formally welcome RPSG Ventures Ltd. and Irelia Company Pte Ltd. into the IPL fold. We had promised that IPL will be bigger and better from the 15th season and with Lucknow and Ahmedabad, we will take the league to different parts of India. The IPL has established gold standards for leagues across the world and remains a premium event on the sporting calendar as it has grown rapidly in a short span. Despite numerous challenges posed by Covid-19, the 13th and 14th seasons were completed, and the bids prove that interested parties have faith in BCCI and its hosting capabilities,” said BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.
