There’s not going to be any “Whistle Podu” or “Halla Bol” at the 2016 edition of the Indian Premier League which starts on Saturday. Two-time champions Chennai Super Kings and 2008 winners Rajasthan Royals were suspended last year for two seasons. Their places will be taken by two brand new franchises, representing the Maharashtrian city of Pune and the Gujarati city of Rajkot.
Two teams out and two teams in. But it's not as simple as it sounds. Here's an attempt at clarity:
1. Why were Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals suspended?
In a nutshell, these franchises were at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal which erupted in 2013 and singed quite a few reputations. Three Rajasthan players – S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan, Ajit Chandila – were banned for spot-fixing while their owner Raj Kundra received a life ban for betting. Chennai Super Kings, which were owned by India Cements, saw their team principal Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of former Board of Control for Cricket in India president N Srinivasan, was also found guilty on the same charges as Kundra. The Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha committee took a strict view and suspended the two franchises for a period of two years.
2. How did Pune and Rajkot come into the picture?
The IPL has been designed in such a manner that it needs a minimum of eight teams to make it a profitable venture. So last December, the Board of Control for Cricket in India decided to induct two new franchises for 2016 and 2017 in a reverse bidding process. Industrialist Sanjiv Goenka’s consortium New Rising had the lowest bid and it chose Pune as their base city, while electronics manufacturer Intex had the second-lowest bid and chose Rajkot. The Pune team was given the name Rising Pune Super Giants, while the Rajkot franchise was christened Gujarat Lions.
3. How did they get their players?
Before the main player auction in February, ten Chennai and Rajasthan players were put in a draft and distributed to the two new teams. Pune picked up Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravichandran Ashwin, Australian captain Steve Smith and and South Africa’s Twenty20 captain Faf du Plessis, while Rajkot enlisted the swashbuckling Brendon McCullum, James Faulkner and the West Indies “Champion” Dwayne Bravo. Both teams participated in the player auction later as well and added more players.
4. Who are the names to look out for among the new teams?
Apart from the names already mentioned, Pune also acquired Kevin Pietersen at the auction. The Englishman will undoubtedly be one of this tournament’s biggest draws. Other names to look out for in the Pune squad are Irfan Pathan, Albie Morkel, Mitchell Marsh and Adam Zampa.
Gujarat also signed up Aaron Finch, one of the world’s highest-ranked Twenty20 batsmen, as well as South African speedster Dale Steyn.
5. What will happen in 2018, when CSK and Rajasthan Royals' suspension ends?
Nothing is definite, but since Rajasthan and Chennai continue to be on the IPL’s books, it would seem likely that both franchises, considering their popularity, would return to the league once their suspension ends. The custodians of the IPL have not mentioned anything about expanding the number of teams later, so Pune and Rajkot would probably have to wind up then. In any case, even if the number of teams is expanded, the owners of the two new franchises will not have any advantage – they will have to participate in the process again along with other bidders to buy new teams.
6. What will be the impact on this year’s IPL?
Considering the Chennai Super Kings were one of the tournament’s most popular and successful teams, their absence will definitely have some impact on the tournament. Rajasthan Royals, in their own way, had forged a reputation for being a side that consolidated on their underdog status, and will be missed as well.
On the other hand, the IPL has shown in the past that it can bounce back from setbacks. This is not the first time that franchises have exited the IPL. A Pune franchise, in an earlier avatar known as the Pune Warriors India and owned by the Sahara group, participated from 2011 to 2013 and were subsequently dissolved. The controversial Kochi Tuskers Kerala only played one season in 2011 before leaving. Deccan Chargers was the name of the franchise which represented Hyderabad till 2012, who however withdrew after that season. In their place, the Sunrisers Hyderabad, owned by the Sun Group, won the bid for a new franchise and chose Hyderabad as their base.