IPL 2017 edition in real danger: BCCI

IPL 2017 edition in real danger: BCCI

K Shriniwas Rao | TNN |
Dec 26, 2016, 08.47 AM IST


Sunrisers Hyderabad won the IPL title in 2016. (BCCL)

MUMBAI: The Indian cricket board (BCCI) is walking on thin ice as far as the 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is concerned. With the T20 tournament scheduled to begin on April 8, there are only four months left before the first ball is scheduled to be bowled, and the BCCI says "not a single contract has been signed yet."

From hosting of the player auctions to planning logistics, hiring of creative and management agencies, advertising the league and signing up with a host of vendors for the two-month long cricketing extravaganza have been pending for more than two months already. After the Supreme Court hearing got adjourned from December 5 to 9 on Monday, a top BCCI official admitted that the board was staring into an abyss as far as IPL is concerned.

"The International Management Group (IMG) begins work on IPL every year at the beginning of October. They're not on board yet. The opening ceremony is usually planned five to six months in advance. There's no word on it. It is absolute chaos," a senior BCCI functionary told TOI on Monday.
Another source revealed that communication with the Justice RM Lodha Committee in this regard elicited a one-line response: "Wait till December 5."

The BCCI, however, has a flurry of questions which they've been fretting over. "The (Lodha) committee was asked to appoint an auditor and set threshold limit for contracts. The board even requested the committee for a meeting. But nothing has moved. I hope the committee doesn't expect us to call some DJ Sunny from Bhatinda (pun intended) to perform at the opening ceremony. And if the BCCI needs to match its own standards set in the past for IPL, it needs time to work on things. Given the present uncertainty, the tournament is in real danger," the official added.
Broadcasters, sponsors and vendors usually begin work on sports properties at least 270 days before the start of the event. That's a calculated window during which contracts are signed and measures are finalised.

BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke had written to the Lodha Committee on October 28 highlighting that the image of the board as a professional organisation had taken a serious beating because of the prevailing uncertainty and devalued revenues. The BCCI now says continuation of uncertainty will further strain BCCI's revenue streams. Shirke had written to the committee highlighting a long list of vendors that had to be appointed going into the IPL 2017 season.


"It's been a month and a week now and nothing has actually moved," the official pointed out.
The Lodha Committee, meanwhile, has shut all lines of communication as it waits for the Supreme Court to hear the matter in 2017.

Hope they settle this . BCCI needs to get its house in order .