Two new franchises will compete in the Indian Premier League (IPL) from 2022.
The RPSG Ventures conglomerate bid more than $930m at an auction in Dubai to set up a team in the Indian city of Lucknow.
CVC Capital partners promised more than $690m to set up a team in Ahmedabad, home of the world’s biggest cricket stadium – a 132 000 capacity.
The 2022 IPL season will have 10 teams and 74 matches, with each team having seven home and seven away matches.
Sourav Ganguly, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said: “The IPL will now go to two new cities in India in Lucknow and Ahmedabad.
“It’s heartening to see the inclusion of two new teams at such a high valuation, and reiterates the cricketing and financial strength of our cricket ecosystem.
“The [auction] process included two interested bidders from outside of India, which strongly emphasises the global appeal of the IPL as a sports property.
“The IPL is proving to be a wonderful instrument in globalising the game of cricket. I’m keenly looking forward to IPL 2022.”
Chennai Super Kings are the reigning IPL champions and beat Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2021 final earlier this month. (BBC)
