BCCI to release tenders for the inclusion of two new IPL teams in mid-2021 and 10 teams will play in 2022 BCCI is set to approve the addition of two new IPL teams during its upcoming Annual General Body Meeting on 24th December. Sources close to the development say that BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah are already favour of adding the two new teams. Tenders for the same will be released mid-2021 and a total of 10 teams will play in 2022. “The inclusion of two new teams has now moved to 2022 because the franchisees did not want it in 2021 in order to cover up on the losses of 2020. In their view, the addition of two new teams will drain budgets from existing sponsors”, said a top source close to the development. “Also there may be a problem with the ICC- IPL window. The number of matches will increase and the numbers of days will also increase, this might hamper the future tour program of all cricket playing countries”, he added. IPL with two additional teams and ten total teams in 2022 would mean more matches for which broadcast money per year would need to be revised too. “Will the broadcaster agree to pay more for those extra matches? They might also back out as if this is not a profitable venture for them”, added another top source. As per some reports, industrialists Gautam Adani and Sanjiv Goenka are among the top contenders for the ownership of the two new franchises. Welcoming the format change that will happen with 10 teams in 2022, Charu Sharma, Director Mashal Sports and popular sports commentator, says that IPL has not reached a saturation point as had been projected earlier. He argues that when a smaller country like the UK can have 20 teams in EPL, having 10 teams is practical in a popular league like IPL. “Inclusion of two new teams will definitely mean a tough calendar in place and the key will be to ensure that all top players are available for the entire duration of the league, after all, it’s a spectacle of big names,” said Sharma “From a franchise perspective, addition of two new teams will mean more revenue, more matches and more sponsorship opportunities. For sponsors definitely it will be a big value add as they will get more exposure, so it’s going to spell success for all,” said Sharma.