The T20 World Cup game between India and Pakistan wasn't the only build-up happening in Dubai the last 72 hours. A clutch of investors, armed with a strategy and a number to bid for the two new franchises up for sale in the Indian Premier League (IPL), have been busy building up a whole new chapter too.

source- Google

At 11 am today, closed bids will be submitted in front of the office-bearers of the BCCI in Dubai and individuals who have been officially appointed by their companies/consortiums to represent them at the bidding will enter a room where the bids will be opened.

Also Read..

Australia vs South Africa Live Score T20 World Cup 2021: Stoinis, Smith help AUS win by 5 wickets

By noon, the IPL will have two new teams, expanding the league from eight to 10.

Either the Adani Group or the Torrent Group from Ahmedabad will submit a bid, not both. Although, there's some speculation too that the two companies might come together with a joint bid. RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group is all set to submit a bid with a high number to own one of the two franchises.
TOI had reported about the Glazer family - the owners of Manchester United - interest and it can be confirmed that the US-based club owners arrived in Dubai on Sunday and are ready with the bid document.
There are more surprises in store. Industrialist Naveen Jindal, who has interests in steel and power, is looking to buy a franchise. The 51-year-old businessman, who's also a former Member of the Parliament, is learnt to have approached the state of Odisha to partner with the Naveen Patnaik-led government for a franchise in Cuttack. If Jindal manages to submit a winning bid, sources say: "the government of Odisha will wholeheartedly back the franchise in Odisha as it has backed every other sport over the last many years" including Indian hockey.
Capri Global, a financial services company in partnership with a Chennai-based private company, and leading private equity players CVC Capital are also expected to participate in the bidding process.

Also Read..

Everything you need to know about T-20 World Cup

Hindustan Times Media, another US-based private equity firm, and some other bankers and entrepreneurs too had picked up the tender document but there's been no confirmation if any individual or company outside of the above-mentioned names will come to the table. All said, the Torrent Group from Ahmedabad and the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group continue to be hot favourites to own the franchises.
Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Indore, Cuttack and Guwahati are in the fray. Once all bids are submitted, the BCCI will go through the terms of reference, and if all conditions are met, and will then declare the winner. Excel sheets of the numbers being submitted will be readily displayed on the screens inside the bidding room. The winners will go on to own the franchises for perpetuity.

The BCCI, say sources in the know, could've been far clearer with their bid-related policies than they have been. For instance, most potential bidders have been relatively clueless about how exactly the process will play out in terms of submissions. "Anybody coming to the bid table will expect to know the value of all the other bidders, irrespective of the winning bid," say those tracking developments.