Man Utd owners outbid in auction battle as IPL unveils Lucknow and Ahmedabad franchises for a combined USD 1.7 billion

It's been a tough two days for the Glazer family after they failed in their bid to take over an IPL franchise.

Just 24 hours after the Manchester United owners saw their club humiliated at the hands of Liverpool, their attempts to venture into cricket were scuppered in Monday's auction in Dubai, as RPSG and CVC Capital bagged the rights for the two new teams in 2022 for a combined USD 1.7 billion.

The RPSG group won the bid for Lucknow, who went for over USD 932 million, while private equity firm CVC Capital took Ahmedabad after pledging more than USD 692 million.

This was despite competition from seven other bidders, including Lancer Capital, whose principal Avram Glazer is part of the family that owns United.

Both teams will compete in the competition from the 2022 edition, which will have 10 teams and 74 matches where each side will play seven home and seven away games.

The league had approved a proposal in December to add two franchises to the world's richest Twenty20 competition, which has an estimated brand value of $6.8 billion.

"It is good be back in the IPL and I am delighted," RPSG owner Sanjiv Goenka told cricket website ESPNcricinfo. "It is an initial step. We now have to build a good team and perform."

ESPNcricinfo reported that 22 companies had purchased the tender document but only nine were at the bidding process that took place behind closed doors in Dubai earlier in the day.

A senior Indian cricket board (BCCI) official confirmed that among the bidders was a member of the Glazer family, which owns Premier League giants Manchester United.

"The Invitation to Tender process included two interested bidders from outside of India, which strongly emphasises the global appeal of the IPL as a sports property," BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly said in a statement.

"The IPL is proving to be a wonderful instrument in globalising the game of cricket. I am keenly looking forward to IPL 2022."

Joel, Kevin, Bryan, Darcie and Edward Glazer, who along with Avram are the six children of Malcolm Glazer, took over their father's 90% stake in the football club in 2014 when he died following a long illness.

Their ownership of United has long been a bone of contention with the fans, with relations reaching boiling point earlier this year when plans were unveiled for the club to join the soon defunct European Super League.

Unsurprisingly, their IPL ambitions were not well received by supporters either, especially in the wake of losing 5-0 to their arch rivals at Old Trafford.