The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is keen to add the city of Lucknow as the new Indian Premier League team alongside Ahmedabad in the next season, according to reports.
With the new Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium being established in the city of Lucknow, BCCI is eager to market the city of Lucknow as a new IPL destination and also as a major cricket centre.
With the same motive, the BCCI has also planned to host New Zealand for a Test match at the new venue.
The new stadium with the capacity of nearly 70,000 fans will see the city of Lucknow host a Test match after 28 years. India will host New Zealand right after the T20 World Cup in a bilateral series.
The match against Sri Lanka at KDS Babu Stadium in January 1994 remains the only Test that Lucknow has hosted till now.
A BCCI official in a statement to the TOI had said, “The stadium has good facilities and a capacity of nearly 70,000. That’s a good deal for any IPL franchise. Like Ahmedabad, it’s important to give Lucknow exposure to marquee international matches before the IPL teams are finalized. Lucknow was also shortlisted as a venue for the T20 World Cup had it happened in India.”
The BCCI is aiming to exploit the flourishing Hindi market through the IPL. Lucknow will be the perfect opportunity for them to exploit the Hindi-speaking market of the state and further increase the viewership of the league.
Some previous reports suggested that the BCCI has reportedly selected six cities, that will host the two new franchises from IPL 2022.
The six shortlisted cities are reported to be Guwahati, Ranchi, Cuttack, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, and Dharamsala. It has also been reported that Ahmedabad is the number one contender for one of the franchises along with Lucknow being the second.