BCCI plan to host mini-IPL abroad in September

Reports close to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suggest that they plan on hosting a ‘mini-IPL’ series around the month of September. The move comes a few years after scrapping the Champions League T20, a tournament that was co-owned by Australia and South Africa. The mini-IPL is expected to be held in a short window where none of the Test playing nations will be playing any cricket. However, the BCCI would first have to obtain the permission of the International Cricket Council (ICC) before hosting any of these IPL matches.

It is no secret that the board has been eyeing the September window for quite some time. In 2014, they had taken a unanimous decision to scrap the Champions League T20 that was running at a loss. They were also on the brink of hosting the tournament last year only for internal turmoil and legal battles of the board to take center stage in such an event.

However, at the moment, the board are aiming to override the Supreme court to host their mini-IPL with a source stating that it would be breaking new ground. A mini-IPL held overseas could help generate some much-needed revenue and the broadcast rights could be offered to Star to assuage it for the losses suffered by restrictions on ads.

“It can be a great testing ground for what is possible in terms of reaching out to the Indian fan base abroad. It can be made financially viable if a market like the US is explored. Frankly, if the broadcaster finds it appealing then a lot of things fall into place,” a source close to developments told TOI.

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According to reports, almost 85 million viewers watched the World T20 semifinal encounter between India and the West Indies. “Bilateral T20 Internationals are both rare and devoid of any context. But international tournaments get great numbers. It makes sense for ICC to revert to the old logic of having one ICC event every year and thereby one World T20 every two years,” said a source.