BCCI prepones domestic T20 competitions ahead of IPL auctions

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has preponed the domestic T20 competitions for the ongoing season. The tournaments will be played before the IPL 2018 auctions. This has come as a big news for the IPL teams since they will now have a good chance to look at the domestic talents ahead of the big auctions. The talent scouting teams of all the franchises are already out on the hunt to look out for exciting domestic talent.

Amidst this situation, it is a big opportunity for the youngsters to show their strut to the franchises. The premier T20 domestic competitions, the T20 Zonal League and the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament, have both been preponed by the BCCI. The IPL 2018 auctions are set to take place at Bengaluru on January 27 and January 28.

The T20 Zonal League was originally scheduled to be played from January 21. It was expected to run until January 29. On the other hand, the BCCI fixtures for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy were scheduled to be played from February 4 and end on February 10.

Now, the recent reports in the Indian Express state that the T20 Zonal League will be played from January 8 to January 16. Meanwhile, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will be played from January 21 to January 27.

Opportunity for the young brigade

Considering the format of the IPL, it becomes very important for the franchise to form a core group of domestic players. For the players, this serves as an ideal platform to enjoy the limelight and get in reckoning for the national side. The likes of Basil Thampi, Mohammad Siraj, Washington Sundar, and Shreyas Iyer have all benefited from the same tournament and are currently a part of the Indian team for the T20I series against Sri Lanka.