IPL 2022: Top 3 states that can host new franchises
Although the Indian Premier League (IPL) isn't done with its 2021 season, discussions about the next season are underway.
For starters, it will feature a mega-auction, with teams rumored to be allowed to retain up to three players prior to the auction and the rest going back to the available players' pool. With many star captains' future with a franchise uncertain - such as MS Dhoni, Eoin Morgan and David Warner - the next edition promises to be engaging.
Another much-awaited change could be making its way - the addition of new IPL teams. Although there was a buzz about this change taking place in 2021, the BCCI decided not to conduct the mega-auction and induct the new teams this season, effectively leaving that decision for later. India is not quite out of danger from another possible COVID-19 wave, but optimism remains high regarding the 2022 IPL season.
This begs the question - which states could host the new IPL teams? Beyond the current eight teams, the IPL has seen teams from Gujarat (Gujarat Lions), Pune (Pune Warriors India, Rising Pune Supergiant) and Kochi (Kochi Tuskers Kerala).
Here are three states that could host new IPL teams in the 2022 season.
#3 Uttar Pradesh (Kanpur, Lucknow)
The home state of former and current Team India stars such as Mohammad Kaif, RP Singh, Suresh Raina, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav, Uttar Pradesh (UP) has the largest population among Indian states. Emerging Indian Premier League (IPL) stars, such as Shivam Mavi and Priyam Garg, are also part of the current UP squad in various formats.
The domestic team plays its home games at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur, and the associated IPL team may too have the same home base. Alternatives include the Saifai and Ekana International Cricket Stadia. A team hailing from UP would have a guaranteed strong fanbase and might catalyze better returns for a side that has been unimpressive in domestic cricket for a prolonged amount of time.
#2 Kerala
Home to Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson and former Royals players S Sreesanth and Robin Uthappa, Kerala is the only southern state (apart from Andhra Pradesh, which was represented by the Hyderabad team until its split from Telangana in 2014) to not have its own IPL team. It had a tryst with the IPL as the Kochi Tuskers Kerala, which lasted for a grand total of one season.
Kerala has a litany of stadia around the state, but three - two in capital city Thiruvananthapuram, and one in Kochi - have hosted international matches. The Kerala Cricket Association is working on its own stadium in Kochi, which will have a capacity of 50,000 spectators once complete.
Like UP, Kerala has not performed well of late in domestic cricket - apart from its Ranji Trophy semifinals appearance in 2018/19 - and would hope an IPL team's presence leads to more cricketing vigour in the state.
#1 Gujarat
Frontrunners to form a new IPL team in 2021, Gujarat looks to be a strong contender for the same in IPL 2022.
Gujarat fields not one, but three high-performing domestic sides - Gujarat, Baroda and Saurashtra. Baroda is the home franchise for the Pandya brothers, while Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja represent Saurashtra.
Apart from India's current political elite being based in Gujarat, the state also contains the world's largest cricket stadium. Gujarat was represented in IPL 2016 and 2017 by the Gujarat Lions, an interim franchise that stepped in during the Chennai Super Kings' and Rajasthan Royals' two-year ban from the tournament.
A Gujarat-based franchise would appease a strong fanbase and a state with a rich cricketing history.