Royal Challengers Bangalore's director of cricket Mike Hesson on Wednesday (August 26) stated that the franchise is open to mid-season transfer of players in the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League (IPL).
This mid-season transfer of players is a common practice in football but it has not been exercised yet in cricket.
According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, this option of mid-season transfer was first floated around by the IPL Governing Council last year.
"Looks if needs must, later on, we are certainly open to it. We’ve got a small squad and we’ve done that for a reason. If something injuries were to occur, we’d certainly look at that," ESPNCricinfo quoted Hesson as saying.
"You, however, need both teams to buy into any potential loan. So you need to make sure the other side is happy with the loan and think they’ll get benefit from it later on in the tournament as well. So it’s not a matter of identifying someone you want, they also have to be allowed to be released as well," he added.
IPL 2019 also had a five-day window in which the uncapped players could be signed on loan, though certain clauses were put in place which deemed the players who had played more than two matches ineligible.
In the 2020 edition, however, IPL has permitted loans of capped players – both Indian or overseas. The transfer can take place between teams at the halfway point in the season.
The teams could use it if they have injury concerns heading into the second half of the tournament.
"It will come in at some stage due to the fact that it’s hard to get potential replacements. We are very comfortable with the squad we have, but if we get injuries or so forth then loan opportunities could become an option. It’s certainly something that BCCI are well aware of as well," Hesson said.
The 13th edition of Indian Premier League will be played in UAE from September 19 to November 10. The games will be held across three venues – Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.
