New IPL Teams 2021: Ahmedabad and Lucknow are two new IPL teams; CVC Capital Partners, RPSG winning bidders

New IPL Teams 2021: Ahmedabad and Lucknow have been announced as the two teams of the Indian Premier League, taking the total number of IPL teams in the next season to ten.

The Sanjiv Goenka-owned RPSG group placed the winning bid worth Rs 7,090 crore for the Lucknow IPL team, while CVC Capital Partners have claimed Ahmedabad with a bid of Rs 5,166 crore.

The bidding for the two new IPL teams took place at the Taj Hotel in Dubai on October 25, 2021.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said, "We're extremely happy that Indian cricket is growing forward. That is what is important for us. We look at Indian cricket and that's what our job is. The more Indian cricket prosperous, the better it is."

We're extremely happy that Indian cricket is growing forward. That is what is important for us. We look at Indian cricket and that's what our job is. The more Indian cricket prosperous, the better it is: BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on the addition of two new IPL teams pic.twitter.com/paRpwaQi7y

— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2021

BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla said, "for BCCI & the cricket world, the addition of two new IPL teams -- Lucknow and Ahmedabad -- is a great value addition. It is a great achievement for us. UP got its first team & Ahmedabad also got a team, they've the best stadium."

Top 5 things you need to know about the IPL Auction!

1. The Sanjiv Goenka-led RPSG group had previously owned the Rising Pune Supergiant IPL team, which had played two IPL seasons.

2. The new franchises will participate in IPL from 2022 season onwards subject to the bidders completing the post-bid formalities.

3. The addition of two new franchises takes the total number of IPL teams to ten. The IPL 2022 will have 74 matches with each team playing 7 home and 7 away matches. 

4. A total of 10 parties had placed their bids for the new IPL teams including All Cargo Logistics, Adani Group, RP Sanjiv Goenka, Uday Kotak, Glazers, HT Media, Torrent Pharma. 

5. The winning bidders - RPSG and Capital Partners have clearly outbid the Glazer family, owners of Manchester United. 

IPL Franchises: All you need to know!

The first-ever IPL season was played in 2008 and ever since the league has grown in stature and become one of the most popular tournaments in the world. 

IPL was launched with eight teams -Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils, Deccan Chargers, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals. 

In 2010, two new IPL franchises were added, Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers.However, Kochi Tuskers was terminated in November 2011 following breaching of BCCI's terms of conditions. 

Pune Warriors was also withdrawn from the IPL in 2013 after financial differences with the board.

The Hyderabad franchise was renamed as Sunrisers Hyderabad after a change in ownership. The team, initially owned by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd., was taken over by Sun TV Network in 2012. 

Delhi Daredevils changed its name to Delhi Capitals in 2018 to symbolise Delhi's identity as the capital of the country.

Kings XI Punjab was renamed as Punjab Kings, ahead of the 2021 Indian Premier League in an effort to rebrand the franchise.