Bengaluru to host the IPL 2022 mega-auction

The IPL Governing Council addressed the mega auction dates with IPL Chairman Brajesh Patel, who confirmed that it will be conducted on February 12 and 13 in Bangalore. The league's chairman also stated that Tata Group will take over as title sponsor of the Indian Premier League in 2022, replacing Chinese cellphone maker Vivo.

Lucknow and Ahmedabad are the two teams, for now, to join the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2022, bringing the total number of teams to ten. The RPSG group won the rights to the Lucknow franchise after a record-breaking bid of Rs 7,090 crore, while CVC Capital won the rights to Ahmedabad after a bid of Rs 5,625 crore.

Before the big auction in February, both clubs have started the process of drafting three players for each of their teams. Last year, each of the eight current clubs was allowed to keep a maximum of four players, while the two new teams will be able to choose from the remaining pool.

“The auction will be in Bengaluru, the exact date is not finalized. But it would be held between February 11-13,” according to the sources.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya, an all-rounder from India, is slated to captain the Indian Premier League (IPL) club located in Ahmedabad.

“Yes, Hardik Pandya is being looked at as the skipper for Ahmedabad. The final decision is expected to come out soon,” says sources.

Some of the prominent names that the existing teams have agreed to keep for IPL 2022 include Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Sunil Narine, Jasprit Bumrah, Andre Russell, and Glenn Maxwell.

In March, the board will evaluate the Covid position, as they are in contact with all parties and the government in preparation for the IPL. 'BCCI will see if the caseload drops or not, and if it doesn't, the board will have to build a cluster with four or five stadiums and no need for plane travel,' according to a source.

The eight franchises were each allowed to keep a maximum of three Indians (capped/uncapped). They are only allowed to keep two abroad players and two uncapped Indian players.

They can't pick more than two Indian players (capped or uncapped) for the two new teams, Lucknow and Ahmedabad. They are only allowed to select one abroad player and one uncapped Indian player