The highly-anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 Mega Auction is right around the corner. As it turns out, the auction is set to be held on February 12, 13 in Bangalore. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to officially announce the dates, the franchise owners have confirmed that the bidding war will be held on the said dates. Cricbuzz claimed that the portal spoke to each franchise owner of IPL 2022 to confirm the auction dates. Going by the reported chat, it has been revealed that the Auction will be held on a couple of dates- February 12 and 13.
IPL 2022 will be a 10-team affair; the franchises gear up for the Mega Auctions
It has been noted that the Indian cricket team will be playing against West Indies while the IPL 2022 mega auction will be held in Bengaluru. India and West Indies are slated to face each other in an ODI encounter on February 12 in Kolkata.
Despite the clash, the BCCI official said that the auction schedule is final. The board urged that it will make sure that the match will have no bearing on the auction proceedings.
“It has been clarified to us that the match and auction are two different things and both will go ahead,” a franchise official told Cricbuzz after confirming the same with the BCCI.
It has to be noted that the broadcaster for both the IPL 2022 auction and the match between India and West Indies will be the same — Star Sports. As per the report, Star Sports have been informed about the clash in dates, and a reply from them is awaited.
There has been some controversy regarding the ownership of the Ahmedabad franchise by CVC Capitals over the brand’s investments into betting businesses. As per another report in Cricbuzz, the matter between the BCCI and CVC Capitals is settled but an official confirmation is awaited.
The second new franchise, Lucknow, has reportedly gotten the green signal by the apex body to negotiate deals with their potential new signings ahead of the auction. Both Lucknow and Ahmedabad have a purse balance of INR 90 crore. Both the franchises can sign a maximum of three players before the auction begins in February.
We will have to see how the Mega Auctions go down as the cash-rich tournament is set to see some shuffle of the deck.
