New Delhi: IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told news agency ANI that the much-awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 auction will be held on February 12 and 13 next month. He said that the apex cricket board has also given formal approval to the Lucknow and Ahmedabad franchises of IPL. Will formally issue a letter of intent for entry into this T20 league.
RPSG Group and private investment firm CVC had successfully bid for the Lucknow and Ahmedabad franchises, respectively, last October. The letter of intent was delayed as it emerged that CVC has links with betting companies outside India. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took the time to investigate the issue with the help of its legal team before clearing the CVC’s bid.
BCCI has given formal clearance to Lucknow and Ahmedabad franchises of IPL. Both teams have been given two weeks to finalise their draft picks. IPL auction will be held in Bengaluru on Feb 12 and Feb 13: IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel to ANI pic.twitter.com/nVUSiEbXTy
– ANI (@ANI) January 11, 2022
IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told PTI after the meeting, “The Governing Council has approved the bids today. The letter of intent will be issued soon.” The issuance of the letter of intent means that both these teams will be formally part of the IPL and they will get the right to choose the players ahead of the auction to be held on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru.
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Both the franchises have already appointed their support staff and they can now sign three players ahead of the auction. KL Rahul is likely to get the command of Lucknow and Hardik Pandya in Ahmedabad. The IPL chief said the governing council is planning to give them 10 to 14 days to pick the players before the auction. “We are in talks with new teams, we are planning to give them 10 days to two weeks,” Patel said.
There has been no change in the date and venue of the auction, he added. The third wave of COVID-19 has started in India and the BCCI is also exploring other options for the IPL to be held in April-May, including organizing the entire tournament in a single state. Patel said that it is too early to take any decision in this regard. “We would like to play in India but we have to look at the situation,” he said.
