Contract states that Pune, Gujarat will go out next year: Bansal

by Yash Bhavsar Wed 03 May 2017, 8:29 pm

IPL's newest teams Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiant will make way for the two suspended teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for next year's edition. Earlier there were rumours about ten teams playing in the tournament from next season following the impending return of Super Kings and Royals, who were suspended for two years, but Lions owner Keshav Bansal confirmed that nothing has changed until now.
"As we speak today, the contract states that the two new teams Pune and Gujarat will go out, so that's the fact of the matter," Bansal told Cricbuzz on Wednesday (May 3). "When we bought the team, it was very clear that we will be buying it only for two years and after two years, these two teams will go out and the other two will come back, so that's the way it is."
Bansal did admit that if given an option, his team would love to continue its association with the IPL. "For sure, the intention is there," he said. "When we bought the team it was a different scenario, today it's a different scenario, I'm quite attached to IPL personally and professionally both so I think the economics and all the other factors should be feasible, so given a chance we would love to (continue)," he added.
With the RM Lodha Panel deciding to suspend Super Kings and Royals due to their involvement in the 2013 spot-fixing saga, five bidders attempted to bid for the ownership rights of the two new teams. While the New Rising consortium chose Pune as their home, mobile phone manufacturer Intex became the owner of the other franchise and based their home in Rajkot.
Ahead of the player auction, the new franchises took part in a player draft to pick five players each from a pool that consisted of players from Royals and Super Kings. While Supergiant finished second from bottom in their debut season with just five wins, the Lions had a memorable outing and finished the group stage at the top of the table. They couldn't make it to the final though after losing to Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the playoffs.