KABUL (SW): The players’ auction for this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) has been delayed, which has left Afghans guessing if any of their emerging cricket stars would make it to this event or not.
The IPL 2017 player auction is likely to take place in the third week of February following a delay from the originally proposed date of February 4. Although, the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has not issued a final date yet, franchises understand it would be anywhere between February 20 and 25.
Last November the IPL Governing Council decided to schedule the IPL 2017 tournament between April 5 and May 21. According to the espn-cricinfo, this will be the last year of IPL before teams overhaul their rosters for the 2018 season. All existing player contracts will expire after IPL 2017 and it is expected most players will go under the hammer at the mega auction ahead of the 2018 season. There has been no decision yet on the player retention rules though.
Farid Hotak, spokesman for the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), told Salam Watandar five players from the national team have been proposed to the BCCI for this year’s IPL auction. Without naming the players, Hotak expressed optimism about their inclusion in this mega cricket event. It is widely speculated that Mohammad Nabi, Shahzad Mohammadi, Asghar Stanikzai, Dawlat Zadran and Arshad Khan have been referred to the BCCI in this regard.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad would defend their title at this year’s IPL that would be played from 03 April till 30 May.
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