It has been reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has requested the two newest franchises to join the Indian Premier League (IPL), Ahmedabad and Lucknow to submit the list of their draft picks by January 22 at the latest.
"On Wednesday, both the franchises were formally emailed all the details about the signing process. They have about 10 days to complete the formalities," a source claimed
The news was confirmed by IPL chairman Brijesh Patel when speaking to ANI on Wednesday, saying:
"Ahmedabad and Lucknow franchises have been given January 22 as the deadline to submit the list of their draft picks."
IPL 2022
The 2022 season of the IPL, its 15th rendition, is likely to start in April this year with the 2022 mega auction being held in Bengaluru between February 11-13, sources have reported. The tournament is set to welcome the addition of two new teams, namely Lucknow and Ahmedabad, making the IPL a 10-team tournament.
Brijesh Patel also confirmed the date for the 2022 IPL auction earlier on Tuesday, saying: "Yes, the auction will be held in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13."
The two new teams were given formal clearance by the BCCI after a meeting of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council on Tuesday. The two franchises were initially given two weeks to submit the draft picks. However, due to the dates of the auction, the teams were given 10 days instead.
Lucknow was acquired by the RPSG group following a Rs 7,090 crore bid while CVC Capital acquired Ahmedabad for Rs 5,625 crore. The two new franchises, however, are given a budget of Rs 33 crore. They will have to pick three players before the auction comprising no more than two Indian players and one overseas player as opposed to the maximum number of four players.
The eight already existing Indian Premier League franchises must reveal the list of retained players ahead of the mega auction, with a maximum number of four players consisting of no more than three Indian players and two overseas players.
Both Ahmedabad and Lucknow were reported to have planned to sign the three players by December 25. However, the plan was postponed due to an investigation by an independent committee to CVC's alleged involvement in betting businesses. The committee has now given CVC the green light to continue with its plan.
Tata to become IPL 2022's title sponsor
The IPL Governing Council announced Tuesday that the Indian native Tata Group will replace Chinese smartphone makers VIVO as the new sponsors of the T20 league as the latter had pulled out of the position ahead of the league's 15th season this year.
The news of Vivo's exit and Tata's onboarding as the new sponsors was also confirmed by Patel.
"Vivo has exited and the Tatas will be title sponsors," the IPL chairman was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
This will be Tata Group's first time sponsoring the IPL. However, its Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services subsidiaries have previously partnered with the league and one of its franchises, namely the Rajasthan Royals.
Vivo became the IPL’s title partner in 2015, after which it signed a five-year extension for Rs 2,199 crore in 2017, meaning that Vivo was paying Rs 440 crore for each rendition of the tournament.
The deal had to be terminated in 2020 following threats of a fan boycott in the wake of a significant political relationship deterioration between India and China with troops clashing on the border between the two countries.
“VIVO requested us for the transfer of rights and the Governing Council has approved it,” Patel continued.
