Deepika Padukone &

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Bollywood star couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh are set to bid for the two new IPL teams for 2022 season. According to a report by the Outlook, the couple is backed by a big business family in India. Notably, the bids will be submitted in the UAE, where the T20 World Cup 2021 is currently going on. The IPL and Bollywood have a very strong connection as the the cash-rich league has paved way for amazing fusion of cricket and entertainment.

Kolkata Knight Riders is co-owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla while Preity Zinta has significant stakes in Punjab Kings. Ranveer Singh has been previously involved with English Premier League and is currently the brand ambassador of NBA. Meanwhile, Deepika's father Prakash Padukone is a former All England badminton champion.

The other parties in the fray for the ownership of two other teams in IPL 2022 are the Adani Group, Manchester United owners Glazer family and the RP-Sanjeev Goenka Groups. Pharma companies like Torrent Pharma and Aurobindo Pharma have also picked up the bid documents. Naveen Jindal (Jindal Power and Steel) and entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala are also showing interest.

"The BCCI is not keen to give the rights to an off-shore company and will prefer Indian buyers but power equations can change the script dramatically," said the source in Outlook report.

Ahmedabad, Lucknow front-runners for 2 new IPL teams: Reports

According to a report by NDTV, the cities of Ahmedabad and Lucknow are the front-runners for the two new IPL teams in the 2022 season. Meanwhile, cities like Cuttack, Guwahati, Ranchi and Dharamshala have also been shortlisted by the BCCI as potential bases for the two new teams.

The results will be declared in Dubai on October 25, a day after the T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan. Notably, the initial deadline to pick the tender was 5th October, which was first extended to 10th October & then to 20th October.

“The interest for the new teams is better than expected. We are surprised by the response. We expect the bid to go above Rs 3500 Cr range for each team,” one of the top BCCI officials had said earlier this month.