IPL auction returns to India after three years, to be held in Goa in December

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia on Wednesday gave key details about the IPL auction and upcoming cricket matches. He said the IPL auction will be held in Goa in December. The auction has been held outside India for the last three years, but this time the BCCI has decided to hold it in India.

Saikia said the previous three IPL auctions were held in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but this time the auction will be held in Goa in December.

The date of the auction has also been fixed, though it has not yet been announced. Saikia said it could be held between December 14 and 16. Since this is expected to be a mini auction, it will be a one-day event.

Besides the IPL auction, Saikia also gave details of the matches between the India A women's team and the Australia A women's team. He said the upcoming T20 matches at Dharamsala have been shifted to Mohali because of bad weather and continuous rain there. Saikia said the Dharamsala T20 matches were recently moved to Mohali because the current weather in Dharamsala is not conducive for cricket, with heavy rain there. The decision to shift the matches to Mohali was taken because of the continuous rain, so that cricketing activity is not disrupted by the weather.

Devajit Saikia also described the recent historic T20 match between India and Japan as significant for cricketing ties between the two countries. Congratulating the Indian team, he said the match was not just a win against Japan but the beginning of a new era of cricketing friendship between the two nations.

Saikia made clear that the match was made possible by an initiative of ICC chairman Jay Shah. He said Jay Shah had met the chairman of the Japan Cricket Association in Edinburgh and requested him to try to arrange the match. The match was organised as a gesture of friendship between the BCCI and the Japan Cricket Association. Yesterday's match saw tremendous enthusiasm. He said the match marks a new beginning towards friendship between India and Japan, the development of cricket, and taking the sport to a new level.