After several hours of discussion, BCCI deems CVC Capital ‘fit & proper’ to own IPL franchise: Reports

The confusion over CVC Capital’s bid for the Ahmedabad franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) seems to be over. According to reports, the BCCI and CVC Capital held several hours of discussion, after which the BCCI concluded that CVC Capital was “fit” to own an IPL franchise.

The BCCI, on October 25, announced RPSG Group and CVC Capital Partners as the owners of two new IPL franchises. While RPSG Group bagged the Lucknow franchise for INR 7090 crore, CVC picked the Ahmedabad franchise with a winning bid of INR 5625 crore.

However, CVC’s bid ran into trouble after former IPL chairman Lalit Modi lashed out at the Indian cricket board over their decision. He took a dig at the BCCI, tweeting that a “new rule” must be allowing “betting companies” to buy an IPL team. His tweet read:

“I guess betting companies can buy an IPL team. must be a new rule. apparently, one qualified bidder also owns a big betting company. what next? does BCCI not do their homework? what can Anti-corruption do in such a case? #cricket.”

On Wednesday, though, the BCCI seemed to have resolved all the issues with CVC Capital. According to reports, CVC has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the BCCI to own the Ahmedabad franchise.

Earlier, apart from Modi, a report by Outlook also claimed that CVC Capital was under the scanner for links with betting companies. The report had stated:

“CVC Capital Partners has run into trouble for its links with betting companies. It has been pointed out that CVC Capital have invested heavily in betting and gambling companies. BCCI’s attention has been drawn to CVC Capital’s business activities and it was strange that these were not noticed during the long “verification stage” before the financials were opened on Monday evening.”

IPL 2022 to be a 10-team event with 74 matches

While announcing RPSG Group and CVC Capital Partners as the two owners of the new IPL franchises, the BCCI also confirmed that IPL 2022 will be a 10-team tournament.

A total of 74 matches will be played in the upcoming edition of the T20 league, wherein each team will play 7 home and 7 away matches.

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Before IPL 2022, there will be a mega auction, which will see most of the players going back into the bidding war. As per media reports, each franchise will be allowed to retain no more than 3-4 players ahead of the mega auction.

The franchises are also expected to be given the option of the Right To Match (RTM) card.