According to a report that was published by ESPN Cricinfo on Thursday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to make an announcement on January 25 regarding the names of the five franchises that will participate in the first edition of the Women Indian Premier League (IPL) as well as the cities in which they will operate from.
On that day, the envelopes containing the financial bids for these franchises, which are currently sealed, will be opened.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said in the documentation accompanying the tender that it is not “obliged to accept the highest monetary offer” and that it will instead look for ways for bidders to contribute to the enhancement of women’s cricket in the country.
The BCCI had issued a tender the week before, requesting bids from interested parties to purchase and operate the five WIPL franchises, which will ultimately begin on March 3 and go through Match 26.
In the document titled “Invitation to Tender,” also known as “ITT,” BCCI makes it clear that a single bidder is allowed to compete for more than one location.
The BCCI has narrowed the competition for the tender down to ten locations and the venues in those cities. On the list are the cities of Ahmedabad (with its Narendra Modi stadium and its capacity of 112,560), Kolkata (with its Eden Gardens and its capacity of 65,000), Chennai (with its MA Chidambaram stadium and its capacity of 50,000), Bangalore (with its M Chinnaswamy stadium and its capacity of 42,000), Delhi (with its Arun Jaitley stadium and its capacity of 55,000), Dharamsala (with its HPCA stadium and its capacity of 20,900
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has stated that one of the three grounds that have been listed for Mumbai will be utilised depending on “availability and other circumstances.”
The BCCI had presented a separate proposal to state associations of the sport at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) the previous year. The current plan, which involves establishing a pool in 10 cities, is distinct from that one.
In those days, the BCCI planned to either select one city from each of India’s six zones to host the event or hold the championship in a half-dozen locations across India without providing a suitable home base for five of the participating teams.
The Men’s Indian Premier League teams all call one of these seven cities their home base, with the exception of Dharamsala, Guwahati, and Indore. The BCCI has not established a base price; nevertheless, bidders have been requested to provide a price for the next ten seasons.
Bidders also have the option of competing for more than one franchise or location, although the board has said that each successful bidder will receive only one franchise.
The BCCI stated that the venue that received the highest total bid amount would be awarded first. “Following that, the award will be given to the stadium that had the second highest offer amount,” he continued.
The BCCI has stated that another round of bidding will take place in the event that two of the highest offers for a single location turn out to be the same. In the event that the highest bids for two sites and two different bidders are equal, the BCCI will have “discretion to pick the order.” In the event that a bidder places a higher bid for more than one ground, the BCCI reserves the right to select the location.