The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) during the 89th Annual General Meeting held in Ahmedabad had declared that a 10-team IPL would be possible in the 2022 edition. This meant that the 2022 edition would witness two new teams entering into the fray. There was earlier speculation that Malayalam superstar Mohanlal and Bollywood star Salman Khan would apparently be bidding to be the owners. However, the BCCI has now reportedly decided to change their stance with reports emerging that IPL 2022 could only be a nine-team affair and not a 10-team edition. In a report by Times of India, adding two new teams might result in changing the entire format of the league stages and that will involve renegotiation with partners of the Indian Premier League.
More importantly, the IPL media rights end by 2023 and if the BCCI has to get more value, then it might make sense to push the arrival of the 10th team at least by a couple of seasons. The tenders for the new IPL media…