Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune may not live beyond 2017

Prospective bidders for the Indian Premier League (IPL) had recently dissented to sign a 10-year deal with the league (2018-2027) and put forth a list of 259 questions to the BCCI. On Tuesday, the bidders were presented with the first list of answers in an official statement by the Board.

According to the statement, current franchises Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions are likely to be scrapped by the Board paving the way for suspended franchises, Chennai and Rajasthan. 

"There will be eight teams and 60 matches from 2018," the BCCI statement said.

“All the 'original' sides - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mohali besides Chennai and Jaipur - will participate in the 2018 version, and also for the foreseeable future. Should there be expansion, the league will not have more than 10 teams and 76 matches at any stage," the release read.

Both Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings were suspended in 2015 following a match-fixing scandal involving the owners of both the franchises. If at all the ten-team format is to be implemented, it could mean that the Gujarat and Pune franchises could feature alongside returning Rajasthan and Chennai teams.

The Board has also transformed the tendering format with TV broadcasters to 'consolidated bids', which means that the broadcasters need not submit three separate bids on TV broadcast in India, digital broadcast on India and international broadcast respectively.