Chennai, Nov 20 : BCCI Secretary Jay Shah Today  confirmed the holding of the next IPL season in India and lavished praise on former India Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for not taking a penny for mentoring Team India during T20I World Cup.

“I know you all are waiting to see CSK play at Chepauk. The moment is not very far. The 15th season of IPL will be played in India and it will be more exciting than ever with two new teams joining. We have mega auctions coming up, so it will be interesting to see what the new combination looks like,” he said here.

Shah is in the city to attend the “The Champions Call” event organised to celebrate Chennai Super Kings victory in this year’s IPL.

The two new franchises are Lucknow and Ahmedabad, which will be added in the 2022 edition of the IPL.

The 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League kickstarted in India, but was suspended midway due to Covid cases detected in players of some of the teams. The second leg of the tournament was completed in September-October later this year in UAE.

Lavishing praise on Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the CSK captain, Shah said Indian cricket is proud to have leaders like MS who are ready to serve whenever the country needs them and added that he did not take a single penny for donning the role of Team India mentor in the T20I World Cup.

“I recall my interaction with Mahi. When I approached him for the mentorship role for Team India. I told him that India needs you. He said yes. He will never speak about it, but it is my duty to inform everyone. He said he will not take a rupee for his service. Indian cricket is proud to have leaders like MS who are ready to serve whenever the country needs them,” he said.(UNI)