Reports: BCCI to organize auction for IPL 2021 on February 18

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to organize the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the month of April and May. While all the eight teams had submitted the final list of retained and released players to the Indian board on January 20, BCCI is planning to organize the mini-auction for IPL 2021 in the month of February.

The Indian board was keen on hosting the mega-auction for IPL 2021 and add two new franchises to expand the tournament. However, in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) hosted on December 24, 2020, the office-bearers decided to postpone the idea of expanding the tournament to IPL 2022.

Thus, the 10-team IPL will see light only in the 15th edition of the T20 extravaganza and the mega-auction will be hosted after IPL 2021. With mini-auction, there was no pressure on team managements regarding the release of the players but they released the extra baggage from their respective squads to increase their purse limit and rope in new players in the auction to fill the loopholes for the upcoming edition of the Indian league.

It is learned that BCCI is planning to organise the much-awaited auction on February 18, 2021. “The auction will be held on February 18. The venue is yet to be decided,” a BCCI official said as quoted by NDTV sports.

BCCI is yet to finalize the venue of IPL 2021

The 2020 edition of the T20 Extravaganza was hosted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) across three venues namely Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah in a biosecure bubble from September to November to ensure the safety of the players and other officials owing to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

While the former Indian captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has repeatedly said that the cricket board is keen on hosting IPL 2021 in India only, it depends on the health condition in the country. However, BCCI will do everything possible to keep the glitzy event at its home.

Also, India is scheduled to host England for a two-month long tour comprising four-match Test series followed by five T20 Internationals and three One Day Internationals. The tour will be conducted in a biosecure bubble across three cities.