Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Anurag Thakur along with Indian Premier League chairman Rajeev Shukla on Wednesday met the representatives of the six IPL franchises to intimate them about the modalities of the Players' Auction for years 2016 and 2017.
The franchisees were informed that IPL season 2016 and 2017 will remain an eight-team event and the bidding for the two new teams for these seasons will start after the BCCI's annual general meeting in Mumbai on November 9.
Earlier this month, the BCCI decided against terminating the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. It stated that it will invite fresh bids for two new teams, which will be competing from 2016 onwards to complete the eight-team format in the absence of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.
At its working committee meeting, the Board decided that it would go with the Supreme Court-appointed Justice R M Lodha committee's recommendation of suspending the two teams for two years, making the next two IPLs an eight-team affair.
The franchisees also welcomed Vivo Mobile as the new title sponsors of the IPL.
The representatives of the six franchisee were updated about the recommendations proposed by the BCCI working committee for the next two years of the IPL.
"It was a very fruitful discussion. We briefed the franchisee about the steps to be taken by BCCI regarding the two-year suspension of CSK and Rajasthan Royals. Their feedback is valuable to us and they appreciated the solutions suggested by the IPL working group which were later recommended by the BCCI working Committee," Shukla said.
"We are making constant efforts to keep our stakeholders involved at all levels. It was important for us to take the franchisee on board and let them know about our discussions and recommendations and our reasons behind those recommendations with regards to vivo IPL season 2016 and 2017," said Thakur.
"The franchisees expressed satisfaction and support towards the IPL. We are committed to deliver the best of IPL editions in the years to come," he added.
Image: Anurag Thakur
Photograph: BCCI
