IPL opening ceremony likely to be scrapped as BCCI finds it 'a waste of money'

Mumbai, Nov 6: The opening ceremonies of Indian Premier League (IPL) have always been the highlights in the past seasons of the cash-rich league, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is mulling to scrap the glitzy extravaganza.

In the star-studded IPL opening ceremonies, the fans got a chance to witness their favourite Bollywood stars grooving to their popular musical numbers and dance groups or performers showcasing their skills before cricket took the front seat for the next 50-55 days.

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However, if the latest reports are to be believed then the Indian cricket board is mulling to do away with the ceremony which previously cost it an extra Rs 30 crore.

International pop stars like Pit Bull, Akon, Katy Perry, Major Laser along with big stars in the Bollywood have performed at the IPL opening ceremonies in the past.

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During the IPL Governing Council meeting, chaired by former India cricketer Brijesh Patel on Monday (November 4) at BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, the board members discussed a slew of measures ahead of the next IPL auction, scheduled for December 19.

The members at the meeting came to a consensus that opening ceremonies in the IPL are 'a waste of money' and the board should do away with it.

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A BCCI official was quoted by news daily, The Indian Express, as saying, "The opening ceremonies are a waste of money. The cricket fans don't seem to be interested, and the performers have to be paid a lot."

The BCCI didn't organise an opening ceremony for IPL 2019 in the wake of the ghastly terror attack on CRPF convoy in Pulwama in February earlier this year. Nearly 40 CRPF personnel were killed in the terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir.

The topics like FTP window, availability of foreign players, FTP of the Indian team and the possibility of franchises playing friendlies abroad were also discussed during the GC meeting.

The talking point, however, was having an exclusive umpire to check on the contentious front-foot and height no balls.

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"If all goes well, during the next Indian Premier League, you could see another umpire apart from the regular umpires just to "observe" no-balls. The concept sounds weird, but this was among the issues discussed in the first IPL Governing Council meeting which was held here," a senior GC member told reporters after the meet.

"We want to use technology. We are having another umpire for only observing no-balls. There will be an umpire, who will be focused on no-balls only. And he will not be a third or fourth umpire," the influential member said.

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There was a lot of hue and cry during the last IPL when some debatable decisions were taken with regards to front-foot no-balls.

(With inputs from PTI)