Reports: New IPL team auctions likely to be held on October 17

Earlier the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced tentative dates for the two new teams bidding for the Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions. Now, if sources are to be believed, then October 17 has been marked as the date for the auctions. The 14th edition of the IPL culminates on October 15 in the UAE and by the looks of it, the new team auction might take place in the UAE.

The official date has not been finalized yet, but the BCCI will soon give out the final details to the potential bidders. According to Cricbuzz, BCCI had given three dates to the parties, and changes to the tender can be made till September 21. Then the Invitation to Tender (ITT) document will be available for the taking till October five, and if all goes well, the auction will likely be scheduled for October 17.

The bidding process will be carried the traditional way behind closed doors. The implementation of two new teams in the IPL has been a thought that has been going on for the past few years. The BCCI was also supposed to get it done by 2020 but, the COVID-19 pandemic put those plans on hold.  But now it is ready, and there might be few tweaks going ahead in the coming seasons of IPL.

Currently, there are eight teams in the IPL, and each team plays 14 games. With two new teams proposed, it will be interesting to see what the BCCI does.

Earlier, the BCCI had also announced a minimum budget of 2500 crores for the potential bidders with also a turnover of over 3000 crores. It had also announced six cities namely, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Indore, Cuttack, Guwahati, and Dharamsala for the same.