Reports: IPL Auction 2019 to be held on December 18th

What's the story?

Reports are emerging out of the Mumbai Mirror today that the IPL Auction 2019 will be held on December 18th at 3 pm. Although the venue of the auction is still not clear, there have been reports that Jaipur will host the auction ahead of the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League.

The background

November 15th was announced as the last date for the teams to announce their list of retained and released players. There were initial reports that the auctions would be held on December 15th but there was no confirmation from the IPL board. However, the date of the auctions has been informed to the franchises on Saturday morning.

The details

Another notable point was that the auctions would start at 3 pm rather than the usual 10 am slot. This decision has been taken in consultation with the official broadcaster of IPL- Star Sports, who have decided that the viewership will be high between 7 pm and 10 pm. Hence, the franchisees have been informed that the auctions would start at 3 pm and will be completed by 9:30 pm. Hence, the prime time slot would be guaranteed for the IPL Auctions.

Another reason for starting the auctions at 3 pm is because December 18th will be the 5th and the final day of the 2nd Test between India and Australia. Hence, to avoid any clash of viewership, the IPL board and Star Sports have decided to start the auctions at 3 pm by when the Test match would be completed.

However, the franchisees are said to be unhappy about this decision as the start and the venue of next year's IPL is still not confirmed. A spokesman of a franchise said that it would be difficult on the part of the teams to go into the auction without having any idea of the conditions they would be playing the matches in.

If IPL is conducted during April-May like previous seasons, a few players might not be available owing to their World Cup commitments and hence they should plan for suitable replacements.