No extension for Pune, Gujarat

The two recent entrants in the Indian Premier League, Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions, will not get any extension, the IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla said on Sunday.

The two-year suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, for their role in the 2013 spot-fixing issue, is all set to be over. Shukla said if Pune and Gujarat teams wished to continue, they would have to come through a fresh bidding process. 

“No extension will be given to both the teams. The agreement was only for two years. Even if we make it a 10-team league, the two new teams would have to be freshly bid,” Shukla said following an IPL governing council meeting.

Shukla, though, hinted they would prefer to continue with an eight-team league. “So far the plan is to go ahead with eight teams. A 10-team league has to be endorsed by the governing council,” he said.

In another decision, the IPL media rights (broadcast/digital/mobile) will be now changed from 10 years to a five-year period.  The decision, Shukla, said has got the nod of the CoA, and was taken unanimously.

On BCCI’s title sponsorship deal with Vivo, which ends after the 2017 season, Shukla said: “The issue of e-auction has been discussed. The IPL staff has been told to talk to the experts. It's a segregated tender (digital/broadcast/mobile) for different zones, so it becomes difficult. But for the title sponsorship, we have decided to go for e-auction. Vivo was there for two years and fresh auction will be held.”