New Delhi: As the Indian Premier League 2020 ended on November 10, there are reports of The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) adding a 9th team in IPL 2021. Currently, there are eight teams in IPL. However, the board has not taken the final call on the new IPL team. The IPL franchises have been asked to wait for a month and the apex board will soon deliver an official word regarding it.
Although the board has not taken any official decision, a few reports suggest that Adani Group and Sanjiv Goenka Group are already interested in new the IPL franchise and might bid for the ninth team.
If Sanjiv Goenka Group buys an IPL team, they will mark a comeback in IPL. They had earlier bought Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) for IPL 2016 and 2017. RPS had failed to qualify for the playoffs in the first season but they made a strong comeback in 2017 and played the final. However, Mumbai Indians won the IPL 2017. Former India team captain, and currently the captain of Chennai Super Kings, MS Dhoni had led RPS in the first season. He was replaced by Steve Smith for IPL 2017.
The apex board's decision on the new team will have a major impact on the IPL 2021 auction. It might organise a mega-auction if new team/teams are added for IPL 2021.