The bidding process for two new IPL franchises began on October 25 , with ten entities submitting bids to own a team in one of the six cities, namely, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Cuttack, Dharamsala , Guwahati and Indore.

Ahmedabad and Lucknow will be the two new teams of the Indian Premier League (IPL), reports said on October 25, shortly after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) concluded the auction.

Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has won the bid for Ahmedabad at over Rs 5,000 crore, whereas, the Sanjiv Goenka-led RPSG Group has clinched the franchise of Lucknow at a price of more than Rs 7,000 crore, news agency PTI reported citing BCCI sources.

The Adani Group, which also participated in the teams’ auction, lost out in the bidding process.

The bids for the two new IPL teams were submitted earlier in the day, and the verification process was subsequently initiated in Dubai.

The auction began with ten entities submitting bids to own a team in one of the six cities, namely, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Cuttack, Dharamsala, Guwahati and Indore.

According to media reports, 22 firms had picked up tender documents worth Rs 10 lakh. However, as the base price for the two new IPL teams was pegged at Rs 2,000 crore, only a few serious bidders were eventually in the fray.

The BCCI had allowed a consortium of up to three companies/individuals to bid for a franchise. However, in the case of an individual or company, that particular entity’s annual turnover should be a minimum of Rs 3,000 crore and in the case of a consortium, each of the three entities should have an annual turnover of Rs 2,500 crore.

The BCCI was expected to earn around Rs 5,000- Rs 7,000 crore from the sale of these two new IPL franchises. This income will be in addition to the over Rs 450 crore it earns from its share of broadcasting and sponsorship revenues for the upcoming IPL season in 2022.