Delhi Premier League will have eight teams this year

The Delhi Premier League (DPL), a T20 league in the national capital, will have two additional teams, with the number of franchises going up to eight from the six that participated in the inaugural 2024 edition.

"The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), in a meeting on Tuesday, June 17, decided to include two extra teams for this year. The franchises will be up for the bid soon," said Ashok Sharma, the secretary of DDCA.

The meeting was held on Zoom.

The decision comes despite reservations from multiple franchise owners who wanted six teams for the first three years.

Each team in the first edition were bought for Rs 8 crore. The current valuation, for the new franchises, is said to be around Rs 15 crore. However, it will be known only after the tender is released later today (Thursday, June 19).

According to sources, each of the six teams would be able to retain either three or four players and employ Right To Match (RTM) cards for two of the players. There were talks that the Players' Auction will be held either on June 26 or June 28.

Secretary Sharma, however, said that these things -- retention and RTM as well as auction -- are yet to be finalised.

"The first task is to have the two new teams," he said.

He also confirmed that the task of holding the auctions and building teams has been given to Perfect Pitch

The inaugural edition, held at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground of the Arun Jaitley Stadium, was won by East Delhi Riders who beat South Delhi Superstarz in the final in September, 2024. 

Besides East Delhi Riders and South Delhi Superstarz, the league includes Central Delhi Kings, North Delhi Strikers, West Delhi Lions and Purani Dilli 6.

The Women's DPL will have only four teams like last year, according to Sharma. 

Tags : Delhi Premier League, DPL, T20, Cricket, Arun Jaitley Stadium