The Goan Sharks

Or the Dolphins. Whatever you want to call them. The IPL is going to expand to 10 teams from next season and it's highly unlikely that either of the new teams will be based in the party capital of India. However, the Rajasthan Royals look all but set to move out of Jaipur with Mr. Commissioner being voted out of the Rajasthan Cricket Association. As such the Royals this season are playing all their home games in Ahmedabad. There is a good chance one of the expansion teams will be based in Ahmedabad, which begs the question: Where do the Rajasthan Royals play their home games? Surely Ahmedabad isn't a big enough market to have two teams. It makes a lot of sense for the team to altogether relocate to another city. For those who aren't familiar with the concept here's a brief background on relocation of professional teams.

With that in mind, let's have a look at the possible cities where the Royals can move.

Nagpur: Probably at the top of the list as far as the BCCI is concerned. Shashank Manohar has been using his power to ensure Nagpur gets a game every series. The stadium although poorly located is one of the best in the country. Nagpur is also one of the fastest growing cities and there's a good chance one of the expansion teams might be based there. Besides, the Mumbai Indians are already playing a couple of their home games here. Mr. Manohar must be really proud of himself.

Goa: One of the most popular places to visit among domestic as well as foreign tourists. Goa is a cricketing outpost with football still being the most popular sport there. However, the international matches here have been sellouts. With a capacity of over 27,000 and operational floodlights the Nehru Stadium is a decent facility to stage IPL games, although some renovation wouldn't hurt. Traveling in and out of Goa shouldn't be a problem and even fans from Mumbai or Bangalore could make an overnight journey to make a weekend out of an away game for their respective teams.

Kanpur: Floodlights have been a recent addition to The Green Park but the authorities haven't been too sure of using them. The city in itself isn't very appealing to outsiders and is not the most popular venue among international cricketers, with even Indian cricketers not being too keen on playing here. Hard to see Kanpur getting an IPL franchise unless someone outbids the competition.

Vishakhapatnam: Has a good stadium but traveling to the city is difficult due to the limited number of flights. The current situation in Andhra Pradesh has already resulted in an international game being moved out of Vizag and there is a chance the two IPL games in the city might be played elsewhere.