BCCI will not conduct mega auction of cricketers as scheduled ahead of the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), says a TOI report.
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According to the report, COVID-19 has prompted this decision and the auction, which would've seen franchises rebuilding their teams from scratch, is being postponed indefinitely for now.
Franchises will go with the existing set of players barring last minute replacements in case of injury or unavailability.
The 13th edition of IPL will be held in UAE from September 19 to November 10. Subsequently, the BCCI will get a window of four-and-half months to prepare for the 14th season.
As per the report, franchises are on the same page with BCCI as they believe there won't be enough time and space available for teams to rebuild because of the following reasons:
(a) Restructuring of auction purse - presently at Rs 85 cr per year
(b) Entering into a contract with Indian and overseas players to put together a comprehensive auction list - a time-consuming process
(c) Allowing franchises time to prepare for the bidding - teams usually take 4-6 months to figure out auction strategies
(d) Any kind of brand activation - once new players are on board.
"What's the point in doing a mega auction now and not have enough time to plan it properly? IPL might as well go ahead and finish the 2021 edition of the tournament and then see how it wants to go about," a source quoted as saying by TOI.
The report further claims that Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Shah Rukh Khan raised the topic at the recent meeting of franchise owners and most team owners and executives were learnt to be in agreement.
The final call on this matter will be taken in the coming weeks.
(With TOI inputs)
