IPL Governing Council Chairman Arun Dhumal has made a big revelation on whether the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction concept will be abolished or not.
On the marquee, Indian Premier League (IPL), a mega auction is held every 3 years. The last mega auction was held in 2022, when the two new teams, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, joined the league to make it a 10-team competition.
The mega auction concept has been criticized by many experts because they believe it does not allow teams to be properly installed for a longer period of time. There was also speculation about the concept being abolished and now the league president has broken his silence on the matter.
During an interaction with Sportstar, Arun Dhumal officially confirmed that they have no plans to move away from the mega auction concept and confirmed that it will be held next year. Dhumal also highlighted that the concept has benefited small teams like Afghanistan.
“Surely we will have the mega auction, where you can choose three or four players and then you will have a new team. That makes it more interesting and that format will continue.
“Hopefully, the mega auction will be as big and as good as what we have had before, given the new talent that does not come from India or other countries. Teams like Afghanistan have also benefited because they were able to show their talent.”
Recently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the schedule of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. However, the BCCI only revealed the schedule of the first 21 matches due to the general elections in India. The first phase of IPL 2024 will be held from March 22 to April 7 and the rest of the schedule will be announced later by the governing body.
We are confident that we will organize things smoothly this time: IPL Governing Council, Arun Dhumal
The IPL Governing Council Chairman has also stated that hosting IPL 2024 will be a challenge but he is confident that the process will be carried out smoothly.
“Given the size of our country, and given that we have to have a round-trip format that requires traveling the length and breadth of the country, it is a logistical challenge.”
“Therefore, we are confident that this time everything will be organized without problems. Even in 2019, the IPL was played in home and away format despite the general elections. This time too, once the dates of the elections are known and we have clarity about the dates and phases of the elections, we will be able to work out the next phase of the IPL. “It is surely a challenge, but we will have a solution.”
When asked about the possibility of a break between the two phases of IPL 2024, Arun Dhumal said that they would increase the number of double-headers in case there is a break to ensure that the competition ends on May 25 and 26. The reason behind this move is the start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the first week of June. He elaborated:
“This time the challenge is that we started with the World T20 in the first week of June and we were planning to close the tournament on May 25 or 26 as the team will have to travel to the United States and that is a different story. territory in its entirety.
“(For) the first time, the tournament will be held there and it’s something new, so players should arrive early to have some type of practice games before the tournament.
“There could be a situation where we have to maintain a small gap, taking into account the electoral calendars. We may have to increase double shifts, but we will be able to provide greater clarity once the surveys are over.”
In the first match of IPL 2024, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on March 22 in Chennai. The high-profile match will see the legendary MS Dhoni’s return to action and this could be his last season as a player in the league.