IPL suffers complications

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has postponed the auction of enrolled players because of confusion over their participation in the inaugural tournament in April.

IPL authorities will meet with the franchisees on February 9 to discuss the players available for the event and will then announce the auction date.

The complications have emerged because of the unavailability of several enrolled players, mostly because of national commitments.

There is also a doubt over the involvement of Australian players as their tour of Pakistan coincides with the IPL period.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have decided to take time to sort out issues before players are signed up by the franchises in the IPL, rather than holding the auction this week.

“It is only fair that the teams are made aware of the bilateral tours and other cricketing engagements during the IPL period before they decide on who they want for their respective teams, which is why we have postponed the auction,” BCCI chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said.

“Once we brief them in the meeting on February 9, they can go back and decide their strategies in time for the auction.

“After all, we don’t want to be in a position where the franchisees end up bidding for players who are unavailable.”

The player auction may be rescheduled for mid-February.