IPL 2019: Australia and England players won’t be available after May 1, reports

According to a report based on reliable sources, the auction for the 2019 edition of the IPL will be held on December 17 and 18 in Jaipur. This information was relayed to each of the franchises recently, who will now make necessary arrangements to attend the event. Many aren’t entirely pleased following the announcement of the auction dates though, and there were mixed reactions with the choice of the venue too.

Bangalore has been holding the IPL auctions for each of the last 11 editions of the tournament. Most importantly, franchise owners aren’t satisfied about the announcement of the auction date because the BCCI is yet to decide where the tournament will actually be held. There is uncertainty as to how the BCCI will stage the mega-event next year, keeping in mind that there will be the general elections as well.

There has been obvious ambiguity as to whether the IPL will be held in India or moved to South Africa, or even partly staged in the UAE. In 2014, which was the last general election year, the UAE hosted a portion of the tournament, while the business end of the tournament was held in India. However, in 2009, the entirety of the IPL was staged in South Africa.

“We wanted the auction to be conducted after the venue is known so that we could have chosen our players accordingly but the BCCI has its own timelines to follow,” an official was quoted as saying in Mumbai Mirror. The venue of the 2019 IPL will depend on the dates allocated for the general elections.

Australian and England players to leave on May 1

The Australian and England cricket boards have already informed the BCCI that their players will not be available for next year’s IPL beyond May 1. This decision has been taken in view of the World Cup which begins on May 31 in England, prior to which national teams will be holding extensive training and preparation camps. While other boards are to share the availability of their respective players, it is understood that the New Zealand players will be available till the end of the league.

The schedule of the league has not yet been released but the tournament is expected to begin on March 29 and end in the third week of May. According to some sources, the South Africans will be leaving the tournament after May 12, but there is no clarity as to whether the tournament will be held in South Africa itself.

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