The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has revealed its plan to conduct a mini Indian Premier League in the month of September. The announcement was made by BCCI president Anurag Thakur at the end of the board’s working committee meeting in Dharamsala. Calling it the “mini IPL” or “overseas IPL”, Thakur said that the tournament will be a very short one with all the eight teams participating in it.

“In the month of September, the BCCI is willing to host a mini IPL or IPL overseas with all the eight teams participating,” Thakur said. “[It will be] a shorter format, not home and away matches but a lesser number of matches; in a two-week window we will be able to complete it.”

A day before Thakur’s announcement, a board official said that since the Champions League T20 has been defunct now, the officials are planning to hold a mini IPL during that “window”.

“There’s a ‘window’ which has been left vacant in September after the Champions League T20 was discontinued from last year. The Mumbai Indians wanted to play a few games against another franchise. Their request has been turned down and instead a proposal to launch a mini IPL was floated.We’re now considering the possibility of playing a short duration (10-15 days) tournament in the UAE or the US, in which all the eight teams can take part,” a senior Board official said on Thursday.

More to follow…