5 cities which can have an IPL team in 2016

Rajasthan and Chennai won't be featuring in the IPL for the next two yearsAfter mulling over options to replace the suspended Chennai and Rajasthan franchises, the BCCI has finally decided to invite bids for two new teams in IPL 2016. While the fact that BCCI is making the tenders available for only two years is a strong deterrent for prospective buyers, the idea of reverse bidding which is said to take place instead of normal auction makes the entire process slightly lucrative.Several bidders have been reported as interested in acquiring the rights of an IPL team: Sajjan Jindal, UK-based tycoon Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, Gautam Adani, the Dhoots of Videocon, South Africa-based Ajay Gupta, the Munjals of Hero Group, Harsh Goenka and Prasad Potluri of Telangana-based PVP Ventures.As gossip regarding the cities that are in contention for an IPL spot continue to dominate every breakfast table discussion, the author cannot help adding to it.

#1 Kanpur

Kanpur has a good cricket fan base

If Times of India reports are to be believed, Kanpur is definitely among the frontrunners in its bid to acquire an IPL team. The hometown of IPL Chairman and senior BCCI official Rajeev Shukla is expected to adopt the Greater Noida Stadium as the home ground despite its own Green Park Stadium having hosted international matches for fairly long time.

Interestingly, Shukla had ruled out Green Park Stadium as a potential IPL venue last year citing infrastructural inadequacies in the city. The fact that Greater Noida has already hosted big sporting events like the Formula One Grand Prix in the past seems to have an additional influence in favor of the venue.