No international cricket during IPL from 2019, says BCCI CEO Rahul Johri

In what can be termed as a watershed moment in cricket, Rahul Johri, the BCCI CEO has put an end to all speculations over the matches slated to be held during the Indian Premier League from 2019.

It should be mentioned here that the BCCI has been lobbying with the other cricketing boards to keep the international calendar free during the IPL which will provide the cash-rich league with an opportunity to attract as many players as possible.

"The other boards understand the opportunity of the IPL. They want their players to be available. In the FTP from 2019, there's virtually no or very little international cricket during that period in the calendar. Our endeavour is to overcome even that little international cricket. That is a testimony to the strength of the IPL," Johri said as quoted by the Times of India.

Although the England and Wales Cricket Board have always been reluctant to this proposal, they had to relax their stance since their Test captain Joe Root has now jumped onto the IPL bandwagon and will be one of the players to watch out for during this year's auctions.

Johri also cleared the air over Indian players taking part in overseas T20 leagues and said that if the BCCI allows Indian players to travel overseas to take part in the several leagues, Indian domestic setup will suffer and for world cricket to be marketable Indian cricket has to be a strong force. He thus put all speculations to rest!

He also spoke about how the BCCI will go about tackling issues with new media rights partners Star in the upcoming auctions.

"I think the BCCI is strong enough to take its own decisions. Having said that, we value each of our partners. We listen to every partner. We work in a collective manner," Johri quipped.