The governing council of the Indian Premier League has decided to give the franchises time up to January 21 to finalise the players they wish to retain this season.

The newly formed governing council met virtually on Monday and decided to formally convey to the franchises that there will be no mega-auction this season. It will take place next year when two new teams are almost certain to be included in the IPL, making it a 10-team affair.

The mini-auction is likely to be held in the second week of February.

“We haven’t been told anything as of now. May be they will inform us in a day or two... Anyway it’s assumed that there will be no mega-auction this time,” a franchise official told The Telegraph.

A lot of time was spent on discussing the venue options for this year’s IPL. A second consecutive edition in the UAE is an option though the BCCI would like the tournament to be held in India itself.

The members were told that a lot will depend on how the Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament pans out. The tournament will be held from January 10 to 31 across six venues in the country — Bangalore, Calcutta, Vadodara, Indore, Mumbai and Chennai. The knockouts will be played in Ahmedabad.

The BCCI is not averse to hosting the IPL in the UAE again given the challenges the pandemic poses in India. That the UAE offers them the option of staging matches in only three venues with less travelling makes it easier for all stake-holders.

Moving the IPL to the UAE can also be done at short notice and that suits the BCCI since they wish to wait till the last minute to consider the option of hosting it at home. The next governing council meeting will consider these aspects.

For now, it is the Mushtaq Ali meet that the BCCI is focusing on since it will serve as a dress-rehearsal for the IPL. The Board knows that any problems in hosting the IPL could have an impact on the T20 World Cup, slated to be held in India later this year.