BCCI set to hold meeting with IPL team owners on January 22
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to hold a meeting with the Indian Premier League (IPL) team owners on January 22. The meeting will take place on a virtual platform in the afternoon although the timings are not yet confirmed. One of the key agendas of the meeting will be the venue of the upcoming IPL season. The chances of hosting an IPL season in India are looking incredibly bleak as the COVID-19 cases are on the rise.
Reportedly, the stand-by venues are South Africa and Sri Lanka. South Africa hosted the entire 2009 season as the general elections were going on in India. However, the board’s priority is hosting the tournament in Mumbai and Pune as these cities have three venues in total.
However, IPL franchise owners have said that they are yet to receive an official communication from the board regarding the meeting. “It was supposed to be tomorrow (January 22) but we have not received confirmation as yet,” multiple franchise officials have said stating that they are awaiting a formal communication from the BCCI. Meanwhile, IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel told Cricbuzz that the meeting will, in fact, take place on January 22.
Mega Auction venue might be changed and new team owners to be integrated
Currently, the mega auction will be held in Bangalore on February 12 and 13 but the COVID-19 cases are rising in this part of the country. If the event has to be shifted, Mumbai could be the best option as most of the team owners except – Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore are based in Mumbai. This could save the trouble of travelling in the current circumstances.
The Lucknow and Ahmedabad team owners will be integrated with the existing team owners during the virtual meeting. However, Sanjiv Goenka, the owner of Lucknow franchisee, has been introduced to the most of the team owners barring Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. He was the owner of now defunct Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016 and 2017. The Ahmedabad team owners- Amit Soni and Siddharth Patel will meet the existing owners for the first time.
