BCCI put ten-team tournament plans on hold after IPL 2021 suspension

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has currently put the proposed 10-team IPL plans on hold as of now. The Board was all set to launch two new teams in the year 2022 with a mega auction scheduled for the 15th season. However, the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has put those plans on hold as BCCI is currently keen on finishing the 2021 tournament, which was postponed indefinitely on May 04, 2021. The IPL was running smoothly with 29 completed games before the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders was called off due to two players from the KKR camp testing positive for the virus. The two players Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier breached the bio-bubble norms and came to the place without serving the quarantine period.

BCCI is looking for a window to complete the remaining 31 matches with a host of nations such as UAE, England, Australia, and Sri Lanka offering a hand to help finish the remainder of the tournament.

BCCI in no hurry to implement a 10-team tournament

“Time is not right to even talk about the new IPL teams at this stage. We have to first decide the way forward on the suspended season and then only decisions can be taken on the new teams for IPL 2022. No discussion in this regard is happening at this stage in the BCCI,” the official was quoted as saying by InsideSport.

“We don’t see any moment on this before July. We can’t give any timelines at this stage. As I said, no discussion currently in this regard is taking place in BCCI for now,” he added.

Earlier, it was stated that the board wanted to get the two new teams finalized by this month to give the franchises enough time to prepare for the 2022 season. Those plans have now been pushed back, although it will conduct a mega player auction next year to give all the teams a fair chance at making their squad strong.