It’s time for IPL 2024 Auction. It will be the last mini-auction of the cycle before a mega auction in 2024 December. And before that, franchises will meet BCCI officials for a final auction meeting and mock auction before the IPL Auction Day on Tuesday. For the first time, BCCI has gone abroad. The auction will happen in Dubai at the Coca-Cola Arena.
Before the auction, as has been the tradition, IPL franchises will meet with IPL Governing Council members to have clarity on certain areas. They are:
- IPL 2024 Schedule
- Foreign players’ availability
- Auction rules
IPL 2024 Schedule
So far, there is no clarity on IPL Schedule. And the reason is the General Elections next year. A part of IPL 2024 will clash with the parliamentary elections. While the BCCI will do whatever it takes to conduct the entire tournament in India, there is a slim chance that some matches move to a different country like the UAE or South Africa.
BCCI has been waiting for the Election Commission of India to issue the poll notification. However, in the meantime, BCCI could work on a partial schedule. Franchises will raise this question in the meeting.
This is not the first time that BCCI had to face hurdles in scheduling. Back in 2009 Lok Sabha Elections, the tournament was moved out of the country due to clashes of dates. In 2014, the initial phase of the tournament had to find a host in the UAE. And there is a chance that it would follow a similar trajectory.
But even if it stays in India, schedule can only be made once the poll dates are out to avoid clashes. If poll dates do clash with IPL 2024 matches, BCCI will have to move the matches to different locations as the local police won’t be able to guarantee protection.
Foreign players’ availability
Another area of concern is foreign players’ availability. While IPL 2024 will serve as an important tournament to prepare for the T20 World Cup 2024, many countries may opt for bilaterals instead of IPL. And BCCI is in talks with England, Australia, New Zealand and South African cricket boards on that.
The biggest concern will be regarding English players. All format players like Harry Brook will be away from home for nearly six months if they opt for IPL 2024. England will play a five-match Test series beginning January January 25, followed by IPL 2024 and then the T20 World Cup immediately after that. To make things worse, England are due to travel to the West Indies immediately after T20 World Cup.
Furthermore, England are also set to play a four-math T20 series in Pakistan in May. Hence, some of the players including Jos Buttler may miss the playoff stage. Before going for players like Harry Brook in the IPL 2024 auction, franchises want to have clarity on that.
