The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering calling an owners’ meeting of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises sometime next month, with one of the meeting’s main agenda items being the unveiling of Plan B for IPL 2022. The BCCI is understandably concerned about the Covid-driven health hazards nationwide in April/May, when the IPL is scheduled, given the country’s recent rapid increase in the number of Omicron cases. The BCCI is likely to meet with the owners to go over all of the possibilities. However, it has been learned that the possibility of returning to the UAE appears to be off the table.
The original plan for the league, which is set to begin on April 2 in Chennai, was for games to be played on a home-and-away basis if the Covid situation in the country did not worsen. If the situation calls for it, the backup plans will be activated. In the absence of a solid Plan B, the BCCI was forced to halt the previous edition midway through May when the country was hit by the pandemic’s second wave. Four months later, the entire bandwagon had to be relocated to the UAE.
“The meeting will be primarily informative, with the BCCI welcoming the owners of the two new teams, Lucknow and Ahmedabad. If the Covid/Omicron situation worsens, they are also considering holding the entire tournament in Mumbai and Pune, or in the Gujarat cities of Ahmedabad, Baroda, and Rajkot. The owners will be informed of the alternatives as well as what to expect at the mega auction “Multiple franchise officials who have spoken with the BCCI in the last few days confirm that the board is not considering the UAE, where most games in the previous two seasons were played, as an option.
The BCCI tentatively plans to hold the mega auction in the second week of February, most likely around the weekend – for two days between February 10-13. Kochi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Delhi have been shortlisted, and the venue will be decided based on hotel availability. Finding a suitable venue has been difficult given the wedding season.
Meanwhile, the status of the new Ahmedabad franchise has been one of the most hotly debated topics in the BCCI recently. The immediate response from those with knowledge of the developments is that the matter with CVC Sports, the firm that purchased the franchise, has been resolved, but no formal communication has been sent to the new teams, including Lucknow, authorising them to begin negotiating with the players. Each team can sign up to three players, but they can also choose not to sign anyone and instead go to the auction with the entire purse of INR 90 crore.
Vijay Dahiya’s appointment has been confirmed in Lucknow.
Meanwhile, the Lucknow franchise announced the appointment of Vijay Dahiya as assistant coach on Wednesday, as previously reported on this website. “I am thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to work with the Lucknow IPL franchise,” said Dahiya, a former India stumper. In the team’s support staff, Dahiya joins Delhi colleague Gautam Gambhir (mentor) and former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower (head coach). The Lucknow team is owned by Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG Group.