In a first, the last two matches of the IPL’s league phase will begin at the same time. The league phase was supposed to finish with a double header on October 8th, according to the original schedule. Sunrisers Hyderabad were set to face reigning champions Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi in the morning match, which began at 11 a.m. UAE time, while Royal Challengers Bangalore will face Delhi Capitals in the evening match, which began at 6 p.m. UAE time. Both matches will now start at the same time on October 8 at 6 p.m. local time.
While the BCCI announced the decision in a media statement on Tuesday, stating that both matches will be played “concurrently,” it did not explain why. However, ESPNcricnfo believes that the proposal to air both matches concurrently came from Star, the IPL broadcaster. According to sources, STAR intended to do a trial run in preparation for the 2022 season, when the IPL would be a multi-day event with numerous double headers.
The IPL was last a 10-team event in 2011, with 70 league matches and four playoff games. The last time more than eight teams competed in the IPL was in 2013, when nine teams competed in 76 matches.
On October 25, two new IPL franchises will be announced.
The IPL Governing Council also decided on Tuesday to reveal the two new teams on October 25. The bid submission date was been extended to October 10. So far, it has been revealed that about 11 bidders have purchased the tender document. The BCCI has set a minimum bid price of INR 2000 crore for each of the new franchises (USD 270 million approx). There are six towns in the running, including Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, and Cuttack, and the winning bids will own the new teams in perpetuity.
On October 25, the BCCI has also agreed to conduct a tender for the IPL media rights for the following cycle (2023-27). The IPL media rights are the most valuable asset in cricket. Star India paid a record 16,347.5 crore (US$ 2.55 billion at the time) to get the consolidated IPL rights – including broadcast and digital globally – for the 2018-22 seasons in 2017.
The BCCI had bid for seven categories at the time: television in India, digital in India, and rights in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the rest of the globe. The bids comprised both broadcast and digital rights for the five foreign markets.