Bidding process for IPL franchises to begin Feb 21

New Delhi, Feb 17 : Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi said the bidding process for the two new franchises of the Twenty20 league will begin Feb 21 and the bids will be opened March 8.

The bidding for the two new teams would start at a base price of USD 225 million as previously announced.

"Tenders can be collected from BCCI or IPL offices from February 21st for two new teams. The bids will be opened on March 8, 2010 in Mumbai", Modi tweeted Wednesday.

"Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Kanpur, Dharamsala, Indore, Cuttack, Gwalior, Vishakapatnam are the current cities with stadia that can invite bids.

"Rajkot, Pune, Baroda and Cochin which have new stadia going under construction are also eligible to bid," Modi said.

Modi also said the new franchise owners would be identified before the start of this year's IPL so that they could experience how franchises work during the season as they prepare for their debut in 2011 season.

"New team owners and management will have access to IPL season 3 to better prepare them for season 4," said Modi.

Modi had earlier said a "very famous" England football club had shown interest in buying the franchise, though he refused to reveal its name.