BCCI considering a new IPL-style T20 league

The IPL may soon be not the only glitzy T20 league in the country

After the great response that the BCCI received for the tenders of the two temporary teams that will be included for the next two years, India’s cricket governing body is mulling the option of having yet another T20 league, existing side by side with the IPL.

The Economic Times report that BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur has said that considering the number of people who want to own an IPL team, a second glitzy league in the country is being planned. New teams which will play in the new league will be auctioned in the future.

This new league could either be played in the window left open by the Champions League T20 that is no longer being played, or the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) could even look at a new window. "We are thinking about this, considering the number of people who wanted to own an IPL team," Thakur said.

Time is not an issue, and the IPL has scope for expansion; but increasing the number of teams in the league comes with its own set of problems, say the BCCI.

10-team IPL will harm TRP: BCCI

Apart from the Pune and Rajkot franchises being picked up by industrialist Sanjiv Goenka's New Rising and handset maker Intex, there were several other parties who made their intention clear in buying an IPL team – Harsh Goenka's RPG Enterprises, Videocon D2H, DoIT Sports that is run by Kapoor family of Yes Bank, N Ranga Rao & Sons, the makers of Cycle Pure Agarbathies, Haldiram and Chennai-based cement firm Chettinad group.

There has been talk that the IPL could be made into a 10-team competition from 2018 onwards, when Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings come back into the fold, but Anurag Thakur stressed that the 8-team format was best for a league.

"If we have 10 teams, we will not be able to fit them in the IPL window and that would also mean more 4pm games that do not bring in the kind of TRP the evening games do and the quality of the game too suffers," he explained.

It has also been suggested that the IPL is made into a two-tier system with promotions and relegations, with many more teams based in different parts of the country.

Whatever the future of T20 cricket in India holds, it is certain that the BCCI stands to gain a sizeable profit.

Not logical to have another T20 league in India. What @BCCI can do is a 2 tier #IPL whr there will be relegation & promotion @ianuragthakur

— Yudhajit Dutta (@YudhajitDutta) December 10, 2015

@LalitKModi @BCCI planning a new T20 league...Is not the calendar booked with many leagues? love2see Indians participate in other leagues

— kootle (@KootleKradle) December 10, 2015