There is no official word from the board on the matter and it’s yet to be seen if BCCI agrees to change the date
After rigging out the list of retained and released players, all 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) teams are gearing up for the mini-auction. However, before participating in the event on December 23 in Kochi, most franchises are in a spot. Reason being the unavailability of their foreign support staff who will be on a Christmas holiday.
According to reports, the teams are now planning to request the BCCI to reschedule the event so that they can have most of their personnel on the table. Meanwhile, there is no official word from the board on the matter and it’s yet to be seen if BCCI agrees to change the date.
A total of 163 players were retained by the teams and as many as 85 were released from their existing squads. The mini-auctions have always been beneficial for the overseas players and the upcoming one would be no different.
The likes of Sam Curran, Kane Williamson, Alex Hales and Ben Stokes, to name a few, are likely to make themselves available for the auction. In fact, English leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who was very impressive in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, has already confirmed his participation in the event. No wonder the teams will go with all guns blazing and bid hefty sums to have these superstars onboard.
For the mini-auction, the teams, over and above the purse left after last year’s auction and this year’s retention/release, will have an additional INR 5 crore to spend.
Earlier in the month of February, the mega auctions held over a span of two days. However, the mini-auction will be a one-day affair. Most teams have already put their core squads in place and would like to fine-tune ahead of the new edition of the Indian Premier League which will follow the old method of home and away games.
