JOIN USKPL auctions postponed
It was always on the cards that both the auction, and the tournament itself, will not go through as per schedule after the eight franchises expressed reservations at the September 1-15 dates for the competition despite initially having agreed to those said dates during a meeting with Karnataka State Cricket Association officials.
The auctions had been necessitated because the terms of contract of the first auction in 2009 were valid for two years only. KSCA secretary Javagal Srinath confirmed that the auction had been put off, and thay they will be held at a date to be announced later. “There are a few issues raised by the franchisees that need to be addressed,” the former India paceman told Deccan Herald on Tuesday. “As such, the auctions will not be held tomorrow.
“We (KSCA officials including president Anil Kumble) will meet with franchise owners and representatives on Friday morning to discuss those issues,” Srinath added. “One of the concerns raised by team owners with regard to the timing of the tournament as it exists is the threat of rain during the early part of September. Also, they needed some more time to organise sponsorships, and that’s something we will consider, too.”
The team owners have sought at least a three-month period in which to raise sponsorship money, though they have comprehensively reiterated their commitment to being a part of the KPL. One of their other reservations about the tournament being held from September 1 to 15 was its clash with the BCCI’s Corporate Trophy, which will wean away some key players and leave the KPL bereft of its limited star cast.
Indications are that KPL III will be staged sometime early in 2012, towards the end of January or the beginning of February at the conclusion of the Ranji Trophy season, though the profusion of national limited-overs tournaments that are to follow the Ranji Trophy will make it tricky to find a two-week window during that period.