IPL 2020 was successfully completed on Tuesday with Mumbai Indians lifting their fifth title in the Dubai International Stadium. This was the 13th edition of the league and the longest which was conducted in the UAE.
Just when the BCCI was getting applauded for their efforts in organizing this wonderful tournament, reports have emerged that they have already started to prepare for the next edition of the league.
In a report by The Hindu, the BCCI hierarchy has informally indicated to the IPL franchises that a full auction will be scheduled early next year, with an eye on the IPL’s possible return to India, after the 2020 edition was moved to the UAE because of the pandemic.
“The BCCI has told us to be prepared for an auction in a couple of months. Though it is not official, that they have asked us to be ready means they will go ahead as planned. Moreover, with a new team coming in, it makes sense to have an auction now rather than deferring it by a year,” a franchise official told the Times Now Network.
BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly had already expressed his priority in staging the next edition in India.
Moreover, according to a BCCI source, the auction is being planned as there are chances of addition of a 9th team into the mix for the 2021 edition. This is being done to meet the financial requirements that were hit hard due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Which if happens there are chances that a team from Gujarat. To add to it, the Motera Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad was renovated last year and now has a record capacity of 1,10,000, surpassing the Melbourne Cricket Ground’s 90,000.
Many franchises had talked about the need of having a mega auction before the next season. At mega auctions, while franchises are allowed to retain three key players and two more through Right To Match (RTM) options, there’s no clarity over the retention policy yet for the upcoming mega auction.