Lucknow and Ahmedabad franchises have got the virtual clearance from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The franchises will receive the formal clearance after a meeting of the IPL Governing Council on Tuesday, January 11, 2022.
"The two teams have been cleared and we will issue the Letter of Intent (LoI) after tomorrow's GC meeting. The teams are through by all practical purposes," IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told Cricbuzz on Monday.
The Ahemdabad franchise will have former England batsman Vikram Solanki as the Director of Cricket while former India pacer Ashish Nehra will perform the duties of the head coach.
The franchise was stuck in a fiasco as it was not getting the Letter of Intenet even after winning the bid to own the Ahmedabad side in the upcoming edition of the IPL. The issue was with the ownership of the CVC Capital ventures, the company that won the bid.
Gary Kristen who was India’s head coach during the side’s 2011 World Cup-winning triumph will be the mentor of the side and if the reports are to be believed then Shreyas Iyer is likely to lead the side in the upcoming edition. Iyer has earlier led Delhi Capitals in the IPL and the Delhi-based franchise made it to the final under his captaincy. DC eventually ended as the runners-up.
The franchise will play its matches at the largest cricket stadium in the country, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad.