Manchester United 's owners, the Glazer family, are reportedly interested in buying a franchise team in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The IPL is cricket's premier T20 franchise tournament and it is set to expand from eight teams to ten next year.

Earlier this month, the BCCI issued an Invitation to Tender (ITT) document which allows parties that are interested in buying one of the two new franchises to register their interest.

In order to do so, they have to pay a tender fee to purchase an ITT, which will then allow them to bid for a franchise provided they meet the eligibility criteria.

The Glazers, who own Manchester United and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have shown interest in owning an IPL franchise team (
Image:
Action Images via Reuters)

According to a report from the Times of India, the Glazers have picked up the ITT and they are among a number of interested parties.

The family also owns NFL franchise the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and they could now make the move into cricket.

It is stated that foreign investors will be able to own and operate one of the new IPL franchises, provided they set up a company that will be based in India.

What is your opinion of the Glazers? Let us know in the comments section.

The report also cites a source as saying: "So, technically, overseas investors are eligible to submit a bid if they meet these conditions.

"We don’t really know whether Manchester United's owners will come to the bidding table. What we certainly know is that they've shown interest."

The BCCI have set the base price for each new team at 2000 crore (£190m), but the winner will likely have to fork out much more given the fact that each franchise will be auctioned off.

Cricbuzz previously reported that a 'top European football club' had purchased the ITT, but the club in question was not named.

Also in the running to own one of the new franchises is private equity firm CVC Capital Partners.

The firm already owns a 14.3% stake in rugby union competition the Six Nations and previously invested in rugby union teams in the Premiership and the Pro14.

CVC was also the majority shareholder of Formula One between 2006 and 2017.