Indian Premier League's new franchises Ahmedabad and Lucknow have been formally given the go ahead by the BCCI to complete initial player signings by January 22, according to Cricbuzz. CVC Capital has been cleared on Monday to own the Ahmedabad franchise which finally allows them to recruit players.

The teams can sign maximum of three players which includes a maximum of one overseas player. "They have time till 5 pm on January 22 to complete their signings," said a BCCI official told Cricbuzz, confirming that the Board has informed the franchises through mail.

The deadline will also allow the BCCI to complete the player enrollments before the auction which is planned to take place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.

Early recruitments also mean that the new teams will have to forego Rs 33 crore from their auction purse if they sign three capped players. Existing teams had to let go many of their long-serving marquee signings in November when they were allowed to retain a maximum of four players.

The Lucknow team is all set to rope in former Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul in the role of their captain with Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan and Rashid Khan believed to join the Ahmedabad franchise.

Lucknow are believed to have finalised the signings of Andy Flower and Trevor Bayliss in coaching roles and Gautam Gambhir as their team mentor. Gary Kirsten is most likely to be the head coach of the Ahmedabad franchise.