Two new IPL teams by December 8

The BCCI has shortlisted nine cities for the two new franchises that will replace the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. The two franchises were penalised by the RM Lodha Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate the 2013 IPL corruption scandal. It was also decided to leave out Kochi and Jaipur from the list of cities for reasons that could not be ascertained.

The BCCI has also deferred the big auction to 2017 where all players from all eight franchises were meant to be back on the bidding block as per the original franchise agreement. The auction was meant to take place in 2016, but with the Super Kings and Royals likely to come back into the IPL fold having served the two-year ban, the BCCI has decided to postpone it by a year.

On a hectic Sunday, BCCI officials and office bearers from all five zones, who had arrived to Mumbai to attend the board's annual general meeting on Monday, held various meetings before converging for the official dinner organised by the Mumbai Cricket Association. One of the issues that the members would be informed at the AGM would concern the roadmap for the two new franchises.

"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," IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla told PTI. The document would be put for sale from November 16 for two weeks. On December 4 bidders can seek clarification and on December 8 the two successful owners would be shortlisted.

At a meeting on October 28 between the IPL and the six existing franchises, the team officials were told that five players from each of the two suspended teams would be allowed to be picked by the two new franchises for the next two years of the IPL, which will continue to remain an eight-team tournament until 2017. It is understood the 10 players would be picked by December 15 by the two new teams.