BCCI OFFICIALS TO MAKE 2 BIG NEW CHANGES IN IPL 2021; BOARD LIKELY TO RELEASE TENDER SOON- REPORT 

In a bid to increase the number of games and the revenue simultaneously, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to make two big new changes in IPL 2021. Firstly, to roll out the tender for two more teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) post-Diwali. 

With talks of adding one or two new franchises in IPL, the existing franchises are currently fearing a dip in the quality of cricket.

Meanwhile, if the league is expanded from 8 to 10 franchises, teams are fearing that the pool of Indian players would be further deprived of quality.

"Teams are already finding it difficult to ensure quality. If we look at most IPL squads, around seven to nine players form the core while two to three players per squad are rotated to find the right balance. Now, if eight franchises are increased to 10, that quality further gets diluted. IPL's core - the very essence of having a salary purse every year - is to ensure the overall quality of all eight franchises remains somewhere at the same level, regardless of an individual franchise's spending capacity. If two extra teams draw from the same pool of cricketers at the auction, can the quality be guaranteed," existing franchises asked as per the Times of India. 

Looking into the other big change, a BCCI official has suggested that five overseas players should feature in a Playing XI instead of four.

In a report on TOI, a top BCCI official asserted that most star overseas players end up warming the bench throughout the season which is not how it should be. As a solution to the problem, a top BCCI official has suggested the number of overseas players per playing XI in a franchise to be increased from 4 to 5.  

“There are quality overseas players who are warming the bench every season because of the restriction. An added overseas player will balance out that need,” the official suggested. Such a move will solve the problem of quality being diluted to a large extent.

However, BCCI has reportedly taken a call on this and will hold the auction in January or mid-February to allow the eight teams to plan accordingly.