Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to hold the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction for the 2023 edition in mid-December this year as reported by Cricbuzz. The tentative da te for the auction is 16 December. Similarly, a tentative schedule has been in discussion with the teams who have apparently got some key information from the BCCI/IPL authorities during recent informal conversations.
The auction for the 2023 season will be a mini-auction but the venue has not yet been finalised. Dates for the league are still unknown but the tournament could start in the fourth week of March with the home and away format restored. Reports further add that the salary purse will be INR 95 crore which is 5 crores more than last year. The purse could further expand if a franchise releases or trades players.
The reports regarding the auction surfaced after BCCI President Sourav Ganguly sent out a note to all state authorities stating that the IPL will be returning to its former structure where teams will be playing in the ‘Home and Away’ format for the 2023 season. The statement said, “the next season of men’s IPL will also go back to the home and away format with all ten teams playing their home matches at their designated venues.”
On the same note, Sourav Ganguly also informed the state units that BCCI will kick off the Women’s IPL (WIPL) early next year. Ganguly wrote, “The BCCI is currently working in the much-awaited women’s IPL. We are expecting to start the first season early next year.”
The Board has already allotted the February-March window for next year’s WIPL and a formal confirmation will be received after the Annual General Meeting next month.
Talking about the IPL, the biggest off-season drama has been the alleged fallout between Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and Chennai Super Kings. Reports further add that the player will add either be traded to another team or released. One of the possible trades that surfaced between CSK and Gujarat Titans for Jadeja and Shubman Gill. But both franchises have denied the trade-off categorically.