AFTER A LOT OF deliberation on conducting the Indian Premier League 2019 outside India due to the General Elections, the IPL Governing Council and Supreme Court appointed CoA has finally decided to conduct the tournament in India.

 

The tournament will start from Match 23. There were rumours that the tournament is likely to be shifted to South Africa, however, BCCI in a press release on Tuesday confirmed that the tournament will be held in India despite elections. 

"Based on the preliminary discussions with the appropriate central and state agencies/authorities, it was decided that the 12th edition of the world's most popular and competitive T20 tournament will be scheduled to be played in India," the BCCI said in a release.

 

 The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) met on Tuesday to discuss the IPL 2019 venues and window. The entire schedule will be announced after the appropriate authorities are duly consulted. The Committee of Administrators (CoA) will also have a detailed discussion with the stakeholders before the IPL 2019 schedule is released.

 

"It is proposed that the IPL 2019 will commence on March 23, 2019. The detailed schedule will be finalised in consultation with the appropriate authorities," it added.

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The IPL this time has to contend with the World Cup also, which will be held from May 30 to July 14 in England. Usually, the IPL starts in the first week of April and concludes in the last week of May. But that won’t be the case this time. 

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Tuesday's statement ended months of speculation about the league's venue this year given the possibility of a clash with the Lok Sabha elections, the dates of which are not yet out.

"The CoA will have detailed discussion with all the Stakeholders before releasing the IPL 2019 Schedule," the BCCI statement read.

 

The IPL this time has to contend with the World Cup also, which will be held from May 30 to July 14 in England. Usually, the IPL starts in the first week of April and concludes in the last week of May. But that won’t be the case this time. According to Justice Lodha committee recommendations, a 15-day window is mandatory between the IPL and any upcoming international fixture. Now, adhering to this recommendation and to avoid a clash with the World Cup, the IPL has to start in the last week of March, so that the tournament can conclude by mid-May.

Recently IPL 2019 player auction was conducted where all eight franchises bolstered their squad with some smart and shrewd buys after retaining their core group of players. The upcoming edition of the IPL will be a crucial one for the players ahead of the 2019 World Cup. While the rookies will try to impress the selectors and make a cut into the national squad, it will also be an opportunity for senior players like Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh to make a comeback in the Indian team. 

In the recently-concluded auctions, uncapped Indian players once again stole the show bagging hefty contracts. Pacer Jaydev Undakat along with mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was bought for Rs 8.4 crore each by Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab respectively. Shivam Dube (Rs 5 crore), Mohit Sharma (Rs 5 crore) and Axar Patel (Rs 5 crore) were other Indian players who bagged whopping contracts.