Sourav Ganguly XI to play against Jaydev Shah XI before BCCI Annual General Meeting

The Board of Control for Cricket in India is set to have its all-important 89th Annual General Meeting on Thursday, December 24. However, prior to the meeting, a few friendly matches are scheduled to be played between the officials of the BCCI and the state associations.

The match will be played at the newly-built Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad. Most of the members for the AGM arrived on Tuesday, December 22 for the AGM. One team would be led by Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian captain and the current BCCI president, and the other by BCCI secretary Jay Shah.

As per reports in mid-day, apart from Ganguly, there will be Mohammad Azharuddin, the former Indian captain and head of Hyderabad Cricket Association, ex-Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Shah and retired Indian batsman Brijesh Patel, who will represent Karnataka State Cricket Association.

BCCI AGM to decide on IPL team additions

The AGM is also set to decide on the number of teams for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League. There’s no surety on the addition of two extra teams for the tournament. The board feels that there’s not enough time for a lot of changes and there are fewer chances of a mega auction.

“There are a lot of modalities that need to be discussed and most of the stakeholders feel that with IPL being held in April, there is very little time for a mega auction and to have a uniform retention policy, agreeable to all the existing franchises,” a senior BCCI official had told.

“You have to invite tenders and have a bidding process ready. In case you have two teams winning bids in late January or early February, they need to be given time for auction which can then be held only in March. That leaves a new team with very little time to plan,” he added.

A 10-team IPL means that there would be 94 matches and a window of two and a half months can make a mockery of the international calendar. The 2020 edition of the IPL ended on November 10 with Mumbai Indians winning the title for the fifth time in eight seasons. For the time being, the decisions to be taken at the AGM remain to be seen.