New Delhi:
The BCCI is all set to introduce a new Twenty20 tournament, to be branded as mini Indian Premier League, in September. The matches are scheduled to play out of India. The dates and other details of the event are still to be disclosed.
"In the month of September, the BCCI is willing to host a mini IPL or IPL overseas with all the eight teams participating," BCCI president Anurag 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 should be able to complete it," he said.
The BCCI move was on the cards with the scrapping of the Champions League T20 last year. The full-fledged IPL lasts about for almost two months and the ninth edition was held in India from April 9 to May 29.
Minutes after Thakur's statement, the BCCI issued a release stating that "BCCI will explore the option of hosting Mini IPL overseas in September".
Going overseas is not new to IPL as the entire 2009 edition was held in South Africa due to the general election in India.
