Two new IPL teams to be announced by BCCI today; Manchester United owners arrive at UAE

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will announce the two new teams to be included from the 15th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) as the bidding process is set to be underway in a few minutes. The tender document has been picked up by 22 companies, but only five to six bidders are expected to compete for the franchises considering the base price of Rs 2000 crore.

English football club Manchester United’s owners, the Glazer family, have also arrived at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to hopefully secure one of the new teams. “Yes, they are here. We will know by afternoon on which two cities have teams and who are the owners,” a source was quoted as saying by ANI. While the new teams are expected to be based out of Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Indore, Cuttack, or Guwahati, some of the potential owners of the franchises include the Adani Group, Torrent Group, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, Capri Global, and Hindustan Times Media.

“Gautam Adani and Sanjiv Goenka are the biggest names in the Indian industry. They will be serious bidders. Expect a minimum bid of INR 3500 crore from the potential bidders. Don’t forget that IPL broadcast rights is projected around USD 5 billion (Rs 36,000 Crore). So the economics will work accordingly as franchises get the TV revenue share equally,” a BCCI insider was quoted as saying by PTI.