IPL 10 may start from April 5, auctions on February 4: Rajeev Shukla

MUMBAI: The 10th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), BCCI's most popular property, is expected to kick off from April 5 next year, while the auction of players will be conducted on February 4 in Bengaluru.

These decisions were taken by the IPL governing council, which met in New Delhi on Tuesday. Rajeev Shukla, chairman of the council, told reporters that the decisions do not go against the directives of the Lodha Committee recommendations.

"The proposal is to start IPL 10 from April 5. The auctions will happen in Bengaluru on February 4. We had to keep a gap of one week after the Australia series," Shukla said.

The council also decided to take steps to ensure that venues in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, can host matches in the next edition. In the 9th edition, the matches were shifted outside of Maharashtra as the state was facing severe draught.

Meanwhile, defending champions Hyderabad Sunrisers will host the opening ceremony and the final as per norms, Shukla informed. Apart from Shukla, BCCI president Anurag Thakur, secretary Ajay Shirke, Cricket Association of Bengal president Sourav Ganguly, Jharkhand Cricket Association chief Amitabh Choudhary and Punjab Cricket Association President MP Pandove attended the meeting.