Jagan’s Serious Push For AP Team In IPL

The Indian Premier League (IPL) needs no special intro. The craze for the annual sports event IPL is humongous as every cricket fan and enthusiast go gaga over the league. It is a Twenty20 cricket league and contested by ten city-based franchise teams.

The current teams are Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

However, there is no representation from Andhra Pradesh state so far. Now, plans are afoot to get Andhra Pradesh state team into the IPL. CM Jagan is said to have directed the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) to prepare a roadmap to put the AP team into the IPL. If the BCCI opens up the window for the new franchises, the new franchise should be owned by bidding. For this, ACA is holding discussions with several leading entrepreneurs and industrialists. ACA president Sarath Chandra Reddy and secretary Gopinath Reddy are holding the talks and making grounds to get Andhra Pradesh Cricket Team in the IPL.

Currently, all the existing teams are corporate and private-owned. It is a strict rule of the BCCI to have only private people own these teams without any involvement of any government or state cricket associations. As the 2024 general elections are approaching in AP, the state government wants the AP team franchise in the IPL and is talking to the top businessmen to own the team. Overall, it is an interesting development. If AP gets the spot in the IPL, it’s big news for sure.