Nine cities in contention for new IPL teams; Jaipur, Kochi out of race

The trophy will no longer see PepsiCo as its title sponsor

The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council on Sunday decided to have two new IPL teams for which bidding will take place on December 8, starting at the base price of 40 crore. The Council confirmed the decision to omit Jaipur and Kochi from the list of cities which will bid for new IPL teams.

Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) Working Committee had decided to replace Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). The interim report of the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha Committee on the spot-fixing and betting scandal in the IPL 2013 found them guilty. The new teams will come in place of CSK and RR, which are serving two-year suspension terms.

IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla informed that the process to find new teams will begin after November 15 and interested parties can seek clarification till December 4. The players’ auction will be held in 2017.

"The IPL Governing Council decided to leave out Jaipur and Kochi as franchise venues," Shukla said to PTI. He added that "nine venues" have been finalised for bidding.

"It will be a walk in bid on December 8. The base price for reverse bid from central revenue pool is Rs 40 crore and the party which bids for lowest share from central revenue pool will be the winner of new team. Invitation to tender documents have been finalised and will be put up for clearance before AGM tomorrow," Shukla further said.

The classical definition of reverse bidding or reverse auction states: "In a reverse auction, the buyer puts up a request for a required good or service. Sellers then place bids for the amount they are willing to be paid for the good or service, and at the end of the auction the seller with the lowest amount wins."

Image of IPL under cloud

Five players each from each of suspended franchises would be put up for draft while others will be auctioned.

Previously, PepsiCo opted to pull out of IPL's sponsorship two years before they were originally supposed to. The reason for that was believed to be the brand’s unwillingness to be associated with the tarnished image of IPL, following the spot-fixing scandal. Vivo has joined the league as its title sponsors.

Sundar Raman, chief operating officer (COO) of the IPL also resigned recently. Raman’s continuance in the BCCI looked in doubt after its current president Shashank Manohar publicly expressed his displeasure. Manohar categorically stated that the Mudgal Committee report had found him prima facie guilty of wrongdoings. He needed to step down to restore faith of the people in IPL and the game.