IPL: BCCI hints at making tourney bigger by adding team from a western state in 2021

The IPL trading window recently came to a conclusion as all eight franchises are now geared up for the upcoming auction on December 19 in Kolkata. As the preparations for IPL 2020 are in full flow, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are reportedly considering to keep a nine-team tournament from 2021 onwards. Earlier, it was speculated that BCCI will be organising the cash-rich league with 10 teams from IPL 2021. However, according to recent reports, the Indian board are reconsidering the decision and will limit the number of teams to nine at least until the 2022 edition.

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IPL to have 9 teams from 2021?

According to Indian media reports on Thursday, the idea behind reducing one team is to accommodate the window provided by the ICC's International Future Tour Programme. A 10-team IPL will apparently have over 90 matches while a 9-team event will have fewer matches in comparison. The decision of having nine teams from 2021, however, can be revised back to 10 ten teams two years later once the ICC comes up with a new Future Tours Programme. It also bears noting that the BCCI is set to oppose ICC's FTP from 2022 onwards along with Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

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The IPL has been contested with 10 teams before. Two new teams were introduced in the 2011 edition, however, the tournament was back to its regular eight teams from 2014 onwards. Currently, Ahmedabad is said to be one of the front-runners to become the ninth team and the newest entrant into the cash-rich Indian Premier League.

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