Five overseas players in the starting lineup from IPL 2021, with a new franchise being added to the tournament

Soon after the Dream11 IPL 2020 final was concluded with Mumbai Indians defending their title and being crowned champions for the 5th time, an important news broke out for Indian Premier League (IPL) fans all over the world which confirmed the addition of a new franchise into the tournament which would make it a total of 9 teams in IPL 2021. The new franchise is expected to be from the city of Ahmedabad, a huge cricket loving part of the state of Gujarat in India, and the newly constructed state-of-the-art Motera Stadium to be its home ground.

Sources have now revealed that an unknown BCCI official has suggested that the rule of 4 overseas players in the starting XI to be changed to 5 overseas players being allowed. This change although yet to be confirmed and unclear, is said to have been suggested to ensure less amount of overseas talent being wasted on the bench. A new franchise will definitely mean increased exposure to the Indian and local talent, however there are concerns of overseas players not getting appropriate game time. “A leading or one of the BCCI official has suggested to increase the overseas players from four to five if they are increasing the teams to 9 or 10 in the upcoming IPL season. There are quality overseas players who are warming the bench every season because of the restriction. An added overseas player will balance out that need.” 

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There is yet to be any official statement from the BCCI regarding these reports, however these changes would only contribute towards making the IPL more world-renowned and highly competitive.