The IPL 2022 will have 10 teams after adding Ahmedabad and Lucknow as base of two new outfits on Monday (October) after an intense six-hour bidding process in Dubai.
The Sanjiv Goenka-led RPSG Group acquired Lucknow team spending upwards of Rs 7000 crore, while CVC Capitals spend over Rs 5000 crore to bag the Ahmedabad franchise, warding off stiff competition.
Now, the addition of two more teams has raised the question about the IPL 2022 format. If we adopt the straightforward calculation, the familiar home and away method, then, the IPL 2022 will have upwards of 90 matches.
But this is not the first time the BCCI has conducted a 10-team IPL and the last of which came in 2011 when Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors were part of the league.
It has all been but confirmed that the BCCI will adopt the IPL 2011 model for the IPL 2022 too. Let’s take a look at the format, refreshing our memory.
The IPL 2022 format
The home and away format will be done away with in IPL 2022. It means, the 10 franchises will be clubbed into two groups of five teams each. It means there will be a total of 74 matches instead of current 60 matches.
The format demands that each team will have to play 14 games before the Play-offs. It mandates the teams will have to play twice against each other in one group, and then one match against four teams of other group and then finally twice against the remaining fifth team of the next group.
How teams can qualify for the IPL 2022 Play-offs
At present, it is a straightforward calculation, the top 4 teams will go to the knockouts. But in the new format all 10 teams will be pooled together after the completion of the league phase and then the top four will enter the play-offs. Then we will have Qualifier 1, Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and Final, just as in the current format.
The only difference is that the teams will be divided into 2 pools of five each as there will be no straight 10-team competition. (Mykhel)