Riding high on the popularity of their cash cow IPL, the BCCI in its AGM in December had decided that it will introduce two new franchisees in the near future, but if the media reports are to be believed that might not happen as of now.The BCCI had plans to introduce two new franchisees but there has been a sudden change of plans, according to a report in ‘Times of India’ There has been a number of reasons behind the move, primarily business reasons.
Simultaneous bid may not allow BCCI to have maximum value for each franchise as it might have a cap on the upper limit of the proposed bids. Therefore introduction of one team will help BCCI have a better estimate on the value it can garner for the tenth team in the near future.Also, addition of two teams will force the Indian cricket board to overhaul the whole structure of the tournament, this will lead to negotiations with the other stakeholders. A nine-team IPL also means 74 games which the BCCI reckons is more feasible.
Also just two seasons are left before the IPL rights cycles gets underway, therefore the BCCI doesn’t want to disturb the existing setup in place. Meanwhile the Industry Executive have welcomed BCCI’s change of plans.“All said, it’s a well-thought move. The BCCI will clearly benefit in the short and long run because it’ll derive better value from the 10th franchise in the future, doesn’t really disturb the ecosystem, for now, buys them more time to put their own house in order,” industry executive was quoted as saying.
“The idea is also to maintain the quality of the tournament, which means ensuring quality cricketers are available to make for a 10-team pool. Now, is that the case? The ecosystem can only expand in line with talent and manpower. That balance has to exist,” the ones privy to the development was quoted by ‘Times of India’ as saying.
