The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) brass along with the IPL governing council members will meet the IPL franchise owners on Saturday afternoon to discuss various issues, including the contentious venue, which assumes greater significance in view of the pandemic situation in the country.
This meeting will be the first of its kind this season and will also involve the formal introduction of the two new franchises, Lucknow and Ahmedabad, to the eight original owners. While the Lucknow franchise is owned by the Sanjiv Goenka-backed RPSG Ventures Ltd, Ahmedabad is run by CVC Capital Partners.
The BCCI has been in talks with Cricket South Africa for hosting the IPL, which is expected to begin in the first week of April. But with early signs that the third wave of the pandemic could be on the wane, there is a strong possibility of the 13th edition being held in India.
The BCCI is exploring the option of hosting the tournament in Maharashtra — four venues in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, besides Pune — to minimise the risk of travelling through airports which had been largely blamed for the Covid-19 outbreak in the bio-bubble in May last year.
“The positivity rate has dropped in Mumbai and other parts. It is likely to go down further before March. Unless there’s a major deterioration, we hope to stage the tournament in India itself. We have learnt lessons from last season’s experience and have to keep one thing in mind: Any botch-up could lead to our failure to find another window to complete the IPL this time. So fingers crossed, we will be extra vigilant this time,” a source told The Telegraph.
After hosting the IPL in the UAE for two seasons, the BCCI preferred South Africa because of positive feedback from the India A and senior teams which have toured there. But India will remain the preferred choice.
“The franchise owners’ views will be considered before arriving at a decision. Various other operational and financial issues will also be discussed. Saturday’s meeting has been called keeping in mind all such factors,” the source said.
The choice of venue could also influence the franchises in their selection of players at the mega-auction, which is scheduled for February 12 and 13. “The BCCI doesn’t wish to take a chance and will inform the franchises in advance. So there’s enough clarity and no blame game at a later stage,” the source said.
The venue of the auction will also be discussed. It had initially been decided that Bangalore would host the auction but there’s a possibility it could be moved to Mumbai, where most owners are based.
Rahul captain
Late on Friday evening, Sanjiv Goenka confirmed that KL Rahul will lead Lucknow. The other two players would be all-rounder Marcus Stoinis of Australia and uncapped leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi.
