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Two new Indian T20 League teams are set to be auctioned in the month of May as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) looks to make the cash-rich T20 tournament a 10-team affair from 2022.

The BCCI officials, including president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah, had a meeting on Saturday to discuss the aforementioned topic which was approved by the Indian T20 League governing council earlier in the year.

"The 10 team IPL will roll on from next year and the bidding process and finalisation of the new franchises will be completed by the month of May this year," a senior BCCI source privy to the developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity. 

"Once the teams are finalised, they can start their operational work which takes considerable time," the source added. 

Meanwhile, in other development, the same source confirmed that young openers in Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal will have to wait for their chances as they will not be picked for India’s three-match ODI series England, which starts on March 23. He confirmed that none of the senior players have opted to rest.

"The team is expected to be announced tomorrow. Neither skipper Virat Kohli nor his deputy Rohit Sharma has opted for rest. There aren't many surprises as we prepare for World T20," the influential official informed. 

"They have done exceedingly well but will have to wait for their turn," he said. 

There was also an update over India’s Women’s cricket team as the source said that they will tour Australia later in the year and will follow it up with a short series against New Zealand before the 50-over World Cup.

"Our women's cricket is as much important as our men's game. We are playing a Test match in England, our first in 6 years and then we have twin tours followed by World Cup. Our girls have a packed schedule," the source added.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Dibyangshu  Sarkar

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