Cricket is a religion in India and IPL being the popular league of this country with only 8 teams doesn’t look great at all where the Leagues like NBA have 30 teams, and there are many arguments that say teams in IPL should be increased. so here is the list of 10 cities that deserve an IPL team.
10. Visakhapatnam
In Visakhapatnam, IPL has a huge fanbase, ACA-VDCA Stadium of Vizag has a seating capacity of 50,000 is the Lucky stadium for many Cricketers, List Includes MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and many more. In total 6 IPL Matches were played at Visakhapatnam even the 2019 IPL Eliminator is played at the same stadium.
Many Cricketers have created many records on this Pitch, currently, most IPL fans from Vizag cheer for Sunrisers Hyderabad, once upon a time back in 2014, both these cities Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam were under United Andhra Pradesh.
9. Indore
The Holkar Stadium of Indore has a seating capacity of 30,000 and it is the second home ground of the IPL Franchise Kings XI Punjab, whenever there is a match of KXIP in Indore, stadium always witnesses a full house, this simply shows the amount of craze for IPL in the city.
Also, it is worth noting Indore is a strong contender to have its own IPL team whenever the IPL Governing Council increases the number of franchises.
8. Lucknow
Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium of Lucknow has a total capacity of 50,000 seats and it is worth noting that only one International match between India and West Indies is played at Lucknow after establishing it back in 2017.
Lucknow is also part of the discussions of Host Stadiums for 2019 IPL Playoffs. but bad luck City didn’t get the chance
7. Pune
In past Pune has two IPL Teams but currently, these teams were abandoned by the IPL and every time when there comes the discussion of the new IPL Team, Pune stays at the top of the list.
the abandoned teams are Pune Warriors of India and Rising Pune Supergiants, also for the 2019 IPL Pune is the home ground of Chennai Super Kings has the Kaveri riots went in their hometown Chennai.
6. Kochi
In past Kochi does have an IPL Team with the name Kochi Tuskers Kerala but this team is also abandoned, to be honest in Kerala Craze of Cricket is decreasing has there is no IPL Team from the state and the other reason is Kerala Blasters, (ISL Franchise from Kerala) is performing exceptionally well in the League. So the focus is shifting in Kerala and there may be a day where Cricket craze will be less compared to Football in Kerala.
If BCCI doesn’t take conservative steps in Kerala, soon we can saw the collapse of Cricket in this state.
5. Guwahati
Here also the same state, day by day Cricket is losing its dominance in this part has there is no IPL Team, but there is a Team for entire north-east states in ISL for which Guwhathi is Home Ground. here also If BCCI doesn’t take conservative steps in North-East states, soon we can saw the collapse of Cricket in this region.
The seven states of the north-east can have their one IPL team which can help in guiding their youngsters towards the sport of cricket.
4. Patna
Bihar has not hosted a single international cricket match in the last few years due to unknown reasons but the craze for sports is beyond the limits in Patna.
Patna has a stadium named “Moin-ul-Haq International Stadium” which has a seating capacity of 25,000. The stadium had also hosted 3 international matches in the past.
If Bihar gets an IPL franchise, Patna should be the front-runner to host the IPL matches which would also help the city build its legacy in the sport.
3. Kanpur
It’s quite shocking to discover that never ever in the history of the Indian Premier League has a team from Uttar Pradesh competed. Uttar Pradesh is one of the largest states of the country yet it has not a single IPL team.
Kanpur’s Green Park stadium has hosted home matches of Gujarat Lions in the past but the state has failed to grab the attention of the IPL GC in having its own franchise.
A city from Uttar Pradesh deserves its own IPL franchise as a representative of the entire state and Kanpur seems to be the front-runner in that race.
2. Coimbatore
You may ask me why are you pointing a city that doesn’t even have an International Cricket Stadium, but Coimbatore receives the highest audience in the fan parks every year during the IPL and the good news is there is going to be a stadium in Coimbatore very soon.
1. Ahmedabad
The Motera Stadium at Ahmedabad is under re-construction and is set to be the largest cricket stadium on the planet with a potential seating capacity of 110,000, overtaking the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The cricket fans of Ahmedabad have never had their own IPL team as due to the stadium’s reconstruction, Rajkot was chosen as the base of the Gujarat Lions franchise.
BCCI would love to maximize their revenue potential by having an IPL franchise from the city. Cricket fans of Ahmedabad are long overdue an IPL team having previously hosted games for the Rajasthan Royals.
Which city do you want to have its own IPL franchise? Share your views in the comments section below.
