No matter what, next edition of IPL will have eight teams
The Board of Control for Cricket in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 (BCCI) has said that the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League will have eight teams irrespective of whether the franchise of Kochi is able to overcome their
internal issues.
According to the cricket website, ESPNCricinfo, a BCCI official said that even if the franchise of Kochi were to be terminated in 30 days, a new tender will be floated to get in the eighth team. There were
eight teams in the first three edition of the tournament and two more, Pune and Kochi were added to the list. However, the BCCI then expelled http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833 from the fold.
The BCCI gave the franchise of Kochi 30 days to get their house in order. However, it was said that the 30-day period was allocated because it is a part of the contract and the situation at the franchise
of Kochi looked far from rosy.
One of the reasons why BCCI will need to get in an eighth team into the fold is because of the broadcasting deal. According to the broadcasting deal with the official broadcaster, the revenue that will be
earned out of it will depend on the number of games played. In the previous season, there were 60 matches played, but with seven teams, a maximum of 46 will be played (using the same format). This will reduce the incoming revenues and will also reduce the
respective franchises’ income as well given that majority of their income is based on a percentage of the broadcasting deal.
However, the website said that the date for the next players’ auction had yet to be discussed. Originally, the player contracts had been for three years and it was decided that new player contracts will be
signed after the player auction in November. Now, it looks like the team auction will be a priority over the player auction if Kochi does not resolve its issues.
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