IPL 2021: Auction to be held on February 18; Chennai confirmed as venue

IPL 2021: Auction to be held on February 18; Chennai confirmed as venue
The IPL trophy

With the window for retention of players now over and each Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise having announced their full list of retained players, all focus is now on the upcoming auctions which will see sides filling up and bolstering their squads. The window for trading is meanwhile, open at present and three trade deals have already taken place – Harshal Patel and Daniel Sams to Royal Challengers Bangalore and Robin Uthappa to Chennai Super Kings.

The upcoming auction is a mini one and was originally scheduled to take place on February 11. It has now been understood that it has been postponed by a week and will be held either on February 18 or 19. The Indian team will be occupied with the Test series against England by then with the second Test in Chennai scheduled to end on February 17. The BCCI has hence, planned to hold the auction a day or two after the Test in the same city.

India is the preferred venue; UAE is second-choice

BCCI
BCCI

According to reports from ANI, an official from the BCCI confirmed that the auction would take place in Chennai on one of the two dates – 18th or 19th of February. “The second Test match ends in Chennai on February 17. So, we will go for either 18 or 19 and the venue is Chennai,” the source was quoted as saying.

Similarly, there is still a lack of clarity about the venue of the tournament. It has been reported that India would be the preferred choice but UAE would be the standby. The source said, “India will be the preferred choice, but it also depends a lot on how the situation is and a better picture will be got after the Mushtaq Ali tournament plays out. UAE was excellent and there is no doubt the Emirates Cricket Board ensured everything went on smoothly. But then, it is the Indian T20 league and we will look to host it here if possible and with the government’s approval.”

Also Read: IPL 2021: Chennai Super Kings acquire Robin Uthappa from Rajasthan Royals