Governing council finalises two options for CSK, Royals

The IPL governing council has finalised two options to decide on the future of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals - either invite bids for the two teams for two years or float fresh tenders for them for ten years and start preparing for a ten-team IPL from 2018. The two options are set to be presented to the BCCI working committee in Kolkata on Friday.

The options were finalised on Thursday evening after the governing council dissected findings of the five-member working group appointed in the aftermath of the Lodha Committee suspending the owners of the two franchises for two years.

With no new investor likely to invest in a brand like IPL for a term as short as two years, the working committee is likely to initiate the process of inducting two new teams on a long-term basis. However, with Super Kings' plea against two-year suspension to be heard in the Madras High Court on September 23, it is unlikely that the tender documents will be floated before the next month's BCCI annual general meeting.

ESPNcricinfo understands the hour-long governing council meeting dissected various options presented by the working group. One of the options was of involving multi-national corporates to independently run the two teams for two years. But the IPL governing council, according to a member, found it "impractical, financially as well as legally."

After seeking legal advice, the meeting concluded that inviting fresh bids was the best possible option considering the peculiar state IPL finds itself in following the two-year suspension handed to the owners of the two teams.

If the working committee decides on floating a 10-year tender, the governing council members were confident that there would be enough time to decide on their base price and the available cities that can be bid for as the additional franchises. Besides, with all stakeholders knowing about the expected expansion two years in advance, there would be enough time to plan for a ten-team IPL from 2018.

The five-member working group was formed on July 20. It includes IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry, former India captain and Cricket Association of Bengal joint secretary Sourav Ganguly and BCCI's legal advisor Ushanath Banerjee.