IPL 11 auction most likely to place in the last week of January 2018, venue almost finalised

With the new year just around the corner, another razzmatazz year of Indian Premier League (IPL) awaits us. It will mark the beginning of the new decade in the IPL, with the 11th edition starting with a new broadcaster, Star Sports. Apart from that, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be making a comeback to the league after serving a two-year suspension on disciplinary grounds.

And the preparations for IPL 11 is already underway. The mega-auction for the upcoming edition of the IPL is likely to be held in the last week of January 2018. Goa has been earmarked as the preferred venue, but given the Christmas and New Year rush, the BCCI officials are having second thoughts regarding the venue.

While the core of some of the teams will remain the same, after being allowed to retain three players and two right-to-match cards, the rest of the players will be in the auction pool. The player rules for the Right to Match are, maximum of three Capped Indian players, maximum of two overseas players, and a maximum number of two uncapped Indian players.

The player auctions for the 2018 edition of the tournament may witness some big-spending by the franchises as the Governing Council has hiked the salary budget of the franchises from Rs 66 crore to Rs 80 crore for the auction.

Dhoni to return to CSK

The 11th edition of the country’s premier cricket league may also see the return of MS Dhoni to the CSK fold. MS Dhoni has been associated with Chennai Super Kings since the beginning of the Indian Premier League. From 2008 till 2015, he led them to two IPL titles in 2010 and 2011 and entered the final of the tournament four times in 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2015.

Speaking on the matter, BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said, “The player pool available for Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for retention/Right to Match will be the players’ who played for them respectively in IPL 2015 and who were part of RPS and Gujarat Lions squads in IPL 2017.”

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