BCCI Working Committee likely to discuss IPL report on Aug 28

The report and recommendations of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Working Group will be discussed in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Working Committee meeting to be held on Kolkata on August 28.

The IPL Working Group, headed by Rajiv Shukla, also comprises BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary and former India skipper Sourav Ganguly as its members along with the board's legal adviser UN Banerjee. The group was given six weeks' time on July 20 to study Justice R M Lodha Committee's order and give its recommendations and roadmap for next year's IPL.

"The notice for the working committee meeting to be held in Kolkata on August 28 has been received," said Dr P V Shetty, joint secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) which is one of the permanent members of the BCCI's Working Committee.

The decision to form a Working Group was taken at the IPL Governing Council (GC) meeting in Mumbai in July after the members discussed the Justice Lodha Committee's order, which suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two years from the IPL.

The Justice Lodha Committee was constituted by the Supreme Court in January this year to announce the quantum of punishment against Gurunath Meiyappan, the former team principal of CSK, Raj Kundra, co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals, and the two franchisees -- India Cements Ltd, owner of CSK, and Jaipur IPL, owner of the Royals. The franchises were given a two-year suspension while Meiyappan and Kundra were banned for life from all cricket-related activities.

The IPL Working Group has, since then, met all the stakeholders of IPL, including the six other franchise teams' owners, in Delhi and Mumbai. It is not yet known if the members of IPL GC will meet ahead of the Working Committee meeting.

Regarding the future of the suspended franchises, well-placed sources had earlier told TOI that the Working Group is likely to recommend floating tenders for new teams. It is also not yet clear whether Kochi Tuskers would once again return to the fray.