The Indian Premier League governing council has decided that there would be two extra teams for the 2011 edition of the IPL from the existing eight sides. However, what is more surprising is the fact that the base price for the bidding has been increased to $225 million. This is more than four times the base price that was set for the first edition of the IPL and more than twice the price of the costliest team in the previous IPL – the $100 plus for Mumbai Indians.
However, what adds to the surprise is the fact that the two new cities that will be added to the already existing list of eight would most likely be the smaller metros. All the big cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi have already been bought by the franchises, and the favourites to join the fray are Ahmedabad and Lucknow.
Indian Premier League
It must also be said that Rajasthan Royals have already sold a near-12% stake for a price that sends the valuation of the team to $140m, which is more than double of what it was bought for – $67 million.
The only problem with this is that the ten teams will have to play on a home and away basis over a period of two months – making it a 94-game league. This will mean that there will be many more matches for the players in lesser amount of time and the chances of injuries to the batsmen and the bowlers for the Indians. The player fitness will be a huge issue for the Indian cricketers, given that only four players from the foreign countries are allowed to be a part of the playing eleven at any time.
For the third edition of the IPL which will be played from March 12 in 2010, Hyderabad will host the first game of the tournament, whereas the semi-finals will be played in Bangalore. The third place match and the final will be played in the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.
The IPL also removed the two-player cap on the centrally contracted Australian cricketers in each team, while allowing 12 Pakistani cricketers to participate in the auction subject to getting the visas on time. Every team will be allowed to spend $750,000 for fresh signings – barely enough to make one or two big signings.
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