IPL mega auction to take place in Bengaluru on February 7th and 8th

A top official from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed on December 22 that the mega auction for the 2022 season of the Indian Premier League would take place on February 7th and 8th in Bengaluru. IPL 2021 ended with MS Dhoni lifting the title once again, though things could now be so different with a lot of mixing and matching happening prior to the start of the upcoming edition of the competition.

After two new franchises (Lucknow and Ahmedabad) were added to the current pool of eight clubs for the 15th season, the league will have 10 teams in total for the season. Given the fact that many franchises think the exercise has outlived its usefulness, the forthcoming mega auction may as well be the final one of its kind. It will be a treat once again to watch every IPL match in IPL 2022 for sure.

The latest update regarding the IPL mega auction that will take place on February 7th and 8th

“Unless the COVID-19 scenario deteriorates further, the IPL super auction will take place in India. The two-day event will take place on February 7 and 8, and we want to conduct it in Bengaluru, as we have done in previous years. Preparations are ongoing,” according to a senior BCCI official who declined to be identified by the Times of India.

Because of the growing threat posed by the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in India, multiple reports have suggested that the mega auction may be moved out of India, most likely to the United Arab Emirates. However, there has been no confirmation in this regard as of yet, with Bengaluru set to be the venue.

The eight current teams have already decided on their rosters for the event, whilst the two new clubs have until December 25 to choose three players from among the non-retained players. That deadline, however, is likely to be extended since CVC Sports, the business that won the bid for the Ahmedabad franchise has still to get the Letter of Intent from the BCCI after the revelation that the corporation had stakes in betting organizations in the United Kingdom, according to reports.

Several franchise owners believe that the super auction has outlived its usefulness, given the fact that all IPL clubs are now attempting to create an ecosystem. Because just a small number of retentions are permitted, all of the teams wind up losing players in whom they have invested significant effort.

Parth Jindal, a co-owner of the Delhi Capitals, has spoken about how tough it has been for the clubs to part with its players in the past.

“It is heartbreaking to see Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, and Ashwin go from the team. This is how the auction process works in its most basic form. As a result, the IPL should take note of this because it is not the case that you build a team, give opportunities to young players, groom them and get them opportunities from franchises, play for the country, and then you lose them after three years,” Jindal said after the players’ retention policy was announced on November 30.

What next for IPL 2022 and the tournament that will follow in the upcoming year?

The upcoming edition of the IPL will be a competition where there should be a couple of new sides in the mix. The probability of each team winning the tournament now goes down by a bit. But that will not discourage the teams from trying hard to make an impact and really go for the kill.

Keeping that in mind, some of the skippers of the already existing sides will also be changed. Along with that, there will be a major shuffling of the existing players as well and this could impact the competition in the long run. The fans have already gotten used to watching their favourite players in teams they have been playing for years.

This may be a plan for expansion. However, it will be really interesting to see whether the fans think of it as a welcome change or not. Let’s wait and watch how things progress now in the days to come. The idea is great but the execution needs to be perfect as well.