"Let's go to places where they don't have enough teams" - Aakash Chopra on the choice of two new cities for IPL
![Aakash Chopra feels the South and North zones already have enough teams in the IPL [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/05/a8f1c-16218297360409-800.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra has opined that the two new IPL franchises, supposed to be added from the next edition of the league, should have their base cities in the zones that have fewer existing teams.
The BCCI is looking to add two new franchises from IPL 2022 onwards. This would require two new base cities to be added to the IPL bandwagon.
While talking about the possible host city options in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra observed that the new base venues should come from the West, East or Central zones as the South and North already have enough representation in the IPL.
"The BCCI has divided India into five zones for Ranji Trophy cricket. South already has three teams - RCB, CSK and SRH. North has teams in Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings. West, Central and East have one team each. So the first thing is let's go to places where they don't have enough teams. So we will have to leave out South and North. Secondly, we should also look at the population of the state," said Chopra.
Speaking about the options from the West Zone, the cricketer-turned-commentator picked Ahmedabad as the favorite to be one of the base cities from IPL 2022 onwards.
"Ahmedabad is the frontrunner in this race from the West, the Narendra Modi Stadium. The state has a population of more than 7 crores and has a cricketing legacy. It is the world's largest ground and the stage is set for the West to get another team," observed Chopra.
Aakash Chopra named Nagpur and Rajkot as the other base city options from the West Zone for the two new IPL franchises.
Aakash Chopra's new IPL base city picks from the East and Central zones
While suggesting Guwahati and Cuttack as the other alternatives, Aakash Chopra picked Ranchi as the most viable option from the East Zone. However, he added that local hero MS Dhoni is unlikely to be a part of the franchise and that might seem a little odd.
"The first option from the East is Ranchi, the Jharkhand Cricket Association Stadium. The state has a population of about 4 crores. The stadium has a capacity of around 50000. It has hosted the IPL earlier but how would it look if Dhoni is not there in Ranchi, but so be it," said Chopra.
The former KKR player chose Lucknow's Ekana Stadium as the best option from the Central Zone while naming Indore as the other alternative from the area.
"Lucknow is the frontrunner from the Central zone. There is the new Ekana Stadium which hosted the Afghanistan team. The women's matches against South Africa were also hosted there. It has a capacity of 50000 and the state's population is 25 crores. I would say it makes more sense for Uttar Pradesh to have a team," added Chopra.
Aakash Chopra signed off by stating that Ahmedabad and Lucknow might just win the race to be the two new base cities from IPL 2022 onwards.