The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has sought bids for two more teams to be included in the Indian Premier League (IPL) from 2022, reported ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday.

The BCCI announced the bidding process on Tuesday, asking interested bidders to submit their tender document by October 5, after which the IPL’s technical committee will evaluate each bid before selling the two franchises, with INR 2,000 crore (USD 270 million approx.) being the minimum bidding price for each franchise.

However, it was unclear whether bids will be made via sealed envelope or an e-auction, and when it will unveil the two new franchises.

According to BCCI, there are six cities in the fray including Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, and Cuttack.

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The bidders can pick more than one bid document, each costing INR 10 lakh or $13,700, but will be eligible to own only one team for perpetuity.

The Indian cricket board has contemplated the move for the last two years. However, the final approval came during its annual general meeting in December 2020.

What will be the ten-team tournament’s format?

IPL 2022 will not be the first season to host a ten-team event – that already happened in 2011 when two additional franchises, Pune Warriors and the Kochi Tuskers were added to the original roster.

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Hence, the tournament will follow the same 2011 format where 10 franchises split into two groups played a total of 74 matches including 70 stage games and four playoffs. Every team got to play 14 league matches, seven home, and as many away games against each other.

The last time more than eight teams participated in the glittering league was in 2013 when nine teams played a total of 76 matches.