Ahmedabad IPL team: Will Ahmedabad team play in IPL 2022?

Ahmedabad IPL team: The BCCI has not yet granted the ‘Letter of Intent’ to the to-be debutant IPL franchise ahead of IPL 2022 mega auction.

After an action-packed players retention event before the IPL mega auction for the 15th season in 2022, the action now shifts towards the to-be debutant franchises of the lucrative tournament- Lucknow and Ahmedabad.

To brush up the details regarding the two new franchises, the first new entrant- The RP-Sanjiv Goenka (RPSG) Group were the highest bidders with a whooping sum of INR  7,090 Crore, while the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners (Irelia Company Pvt. Ltd) were the second-highest bidders with INR 5,625 Crore. While the RPSG group acquired the Lucknow-based franchise, The CVC Capitals would own the Ahmedabad franchise.

ALSO READ: Who are the owners of the Ahmedabad IPL team?

The aforementioned franchises are supposed to draft in a total of 3 players (two Indian, one Overseas) before the mega auction for IPL 2022 takes place most probably in the month of January next year.

But the CVC Capitals- the ownership firm of the Ahmedabad franchise had landed itself in a bit of some controversy, after its alleged link with betting firms abroad surfaced post its successful bidding. It is worth of a mention that bidding/betting, unlike some countries, is not legal in India.

The IPL Governing council, as a result had formed a committee to address the matter on December 4, with the aim hand a go-ahead to the franchise with the ‘Letter of Intent’.

Ahmedabad IPL team: Will Ahmedabad team play in IPL 2022?

As per reports, under the ‘portfolio companies’ list on the CVC Capital Partners’ website is Tipico, which is a sports betting and online gaming company. Another link to the gaming & betting industry comes from Sisal, a betting gaming and payments, consumer/retail company.

With the likes of former IPL head Lalit Modi questioning the entry of the CVC Capitals, the BCCI was forced to form a neutral panel and seek legal advice to grant clearance to the firm. The report, however, by the panel has not arrived yet even after a couple of weeks.

As per Cricbuzz, there is an air of optimism for a possible settlement soon on the matter, as it has been learnt that a retired judge of the Supreme Court has been consulted and his advice is being awaited.

But, as per the latest report, the expert legal advice has gone against awarding the Ahmedabad franchise to the CVC Capitals, and in which case the BCCI might well have to go for rebidding.