The BCCI has finalised to add two new franchises to the Indian Premier League (IPL). Player retention, a mega auction, increments in the salary purse and a fresh media rights tender are among the plans that are waiting decisions between August 2021 and January 2022. A tender document for the addition of new franchises will be brought out in mid-August and following the mandatory checks, bids will be opened in mid-October to be timed with the final of IPL Phase 2 in the UAE.
Kolkata-based RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, the Adani group headquartered in Ahmedabad; Aurobindo Pharma Ltd based out of Hyderabad and the Torrent Group that operates from Gujarat are learnt to be showing interest. The BCCI is set to increase the salary purse from £8.5 million to 9 million, that will mean adding £5 million to the total salary pool (among 10 franchises). Franchises must mandatorily spend 75% of the allotted purse. Over the next three years, the purse will increase from £9 million to 9.5 million and eventually £10 million ahead of the 2024 season.
Player retention has also been finalised. Each franchise will be allowed to retain four players, but with the following conditions – they can either retain three Indians and one overseas player or two Indians and two overseas players. Franchises retaining players must deduct specified sums from their salary purse before heading into an auction. With the salary purse set to increase and BCCI allowing franchises to retain a maximum of four players now, this structure may undergo a slight change going forward.
“Some players may like the idea of not wanting to be retained and will want to head into the auction pool. That’s because there’s an increase in the salary purse and two new teams are being added. So, there’ll be a rush to grab talent. Expect some leading Indian cricketers to forward their names for the auction,” sources said.
BCCI is planning the big media-rights auction too, towards the end of 2021. With the month of March now potentially being available to them for an early start of IPL 2023 onwards – that’ll help the board accommodate 90-plus matches between 10 teams. The board and the industry expect a minimum 25% increase in the value of media rights. The pandemic has seen a massive rise in the OTT space as against traditional linear broadcast and that factor alone will dictate the rights industry in coming months.
