The owners of Manchester United, along with the owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, were two of the prominent international buyers looking at investing in the lucrative world of the Indian Premier League.
The IPL has recently increased its team size from eight to ten teams. The auction of the two new teams drew the attention of international buyers and took place on the 25th of October in Abu Dhabi due to venue changes due to the pandemic.
The two new teams Lucknow and Ahmedabad, sold for a combined $1.65billion. The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group purchased Lucknow for an excess of INR 7090 Crore ( $943,40million).
In contrast, Private Equity Firm CVC Capital Partners, who own shares in the Six Nations and La Liga series, purchased Ahmedabad for INR 5166 Crore ($744million).
While the Andoni Group, which bid third-highest, fell short in the bidding process for both Lucknow and Ahmedabad with a bid of only INR 5100 Crore ($68,167million).
The Lancer Group, which owns Manchester United, could only submit a bid of INR 4128.65 Crore (over $56million) for Ahmedabad and INR 4023.99 Crore (over $53,7million) for Lucknow.
New format and ten teams
According to the BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly, the inclusion of two new teams in the 2022 IPL season is an exciting prospect for players and fans alike.
“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,” Ganguly said.
He added, “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 2022 season will take place between 27 March 2022 and 21 May 2022.
There will be 74 matches played, and each team will play 7 home matches and 7 away matches.
New stadiums
With the addition of two new teams, the IPL will have two new stadiums,
Lucknow will host home games from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, which has a capacity of 50 000 people.
Ahmedabad will call the world’s largest stadium, The Narendra Modi Stadium, with a capacity of 132 000 people, it’s home.
New format and New Season Favorites
For the finals, the Chennai Super Kings were the betting favorites with 15/8 odds with Betway – one of the best sportsbooks for IPL betting in India, and fans were not disappointed as they won it all.
The new 2022 season is generating a lot of hype as fans expect Chennai Super Kings to become champions once more if they can hold onto their current core players.
However, both fans and sportsbooks alike are waiting to see what the results of the super auction will be, as the new retention rules and teamsheets will play a significant role in which team has the best chances.
With the addition of Lucknow and Ahmedabad, fans can be excited as these teams will bring a fresh perspective to the IPL. While it is still early, there are no current betting odds for Lucknow and Ahmedabad or the rest of the IPL teams.
