The Indian Premier League will return to a 10-team league in the 2022 season. The announcement was confirmed by BCCI at their AGM in Ahmedabad. The last time the IPL featured 10 trams was back in 2011; there were 9 teams in 2012 and 2013. After experimenting with the format that started in 2011, the league had returned to playing with 8 teams from 2014 onwards. The announcement means that there will be two brand new teams that will join the 8 existing ones. The two new teams will not hail from a state that already has an existing team.
Of the eight teams that currently feature in the IPL, six were part of the inaugural season in 2008, won by Rajasthan Royals. Two teams were added for the 2011 edition, Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The latter, though, featured in just the one season, and the tournament went on with 9 teams for two seasons.
The duration of the tournament had increased considerably with the 10-team format in 2011 with as many as 70 league games and 4 Playoff matches, as opposed to the 60 with 8 teams. The number of matches reduced with 9 teams in the following 2 years.
The IPL’s aim has always been to grow cricket not only in parts of India, but overseas as well. Two new states and their associations could have the opportunity to have an IPL team and host the home games as well. The 2021 edition will go ahead with the 8 existing teams in a few months. We await details of the retention and auction dates from BCCI.
