After the Lodha Committee announced the verdict of Indian Premier League (IPL) spot fixing last month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India immediately formed a working group, headed by IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla, to study the 59-page Lodha Committee report. The four-member group met for the first time on Monday in New Delhi but they did not invite representatives from Chennai Super Kings or Rajasthan Royals.
The working group met to discuss the way forward to IPL 2016. The meeting was attended by Rajiv Shukla, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry and IPL governing council member Sourav Ganguly.
Shukla had earlier mentioned that IPL 2016 will happen with or without CSK and RR, and the Board will try and make it a grand success. BCCI have also stated that they respect the decision of the court and will abide by it.
If CSK and RR remain suspended for two years, then BCCI will have to rope in two new franchises. Kochi Tuskers and Deccan Chargers have shown interest in playing in the IPL edition 9.0.
The working group will also consider the issue of new buyers for two years for the two suspended franchises but they might end up having hiccups in finding a buyer for just two years as all the teams will be re-auctioned in 2018. When IPL 2008 happened, the teams were sold for a period of 10 years.
The future of the players from the suspended franchises is also in the hands of BCCI. They will have to quickly solve the math of the teams, players and the two suspended franchises before the auctioneer hits the hammer next February.
