Australian cricketers hoping for a lucrative Indian Premier League call-up will have to wait a little longer following the postponement of Saturday's auction.
The annual event, which last year featured a bidding frenzy over Shane Watson that ended with the veteran all-rounder pocketing almost $2 million, always captures a lot of interest from players around the world.
![Watching with interest: Mitchell Johnson.](/web/20170203091559im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/y/1/l/x/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gu4h8v.png/1486067319369.jpg)
It was due to be held the day before Australia and New Zealand square off in Hamilton, where the ODI series finale will decide who claims the Chappell-Hadlee trophy.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to confirm a new auction date for the Twenty20 league, however it is likely to occur later this month when Australia are in the subcontinent for a four-Test series.
The Supreme Court of India is in the process of overhauling the BCCI as the fallout of a 2013 IPL corruption scandal continues.
The delay follows the sacking of BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke earlier this year. The nation's top court recently appointed a committee to supervise the running of the BCCI.
"The Committee of Administrators (COA) met the concerned BCCI officials today to take stock of the urgent and important matters mainly concerning the successful conduct of IPL 2017," the BCCI said in a statement.
"The IPL operational timelines for 2017 season will be communicated shortly."
The BCCI insists the IPL season will start on April 5 as originally planned.
The news comes as high-ranking cricket officials from around the world, including Australians David Peever and James Sutherland, descend on Dubai for a round of International Cricket Council (ICC) meetings.
Changes at the BCCI will be one of many issues discussed.
Australia are set to start a four-Test series in Pune on February 23, with Bangalore, Ranchi and Dharamsala hosting the other matches.
Those venues and dates were reported to be one of many issues in a state of flux during a period of uncertainty at the BCCI.
Cricket Australia chief executive Sutherland was given assurances from his Indian equivalent Rahul Johri last month that there will be no late schedule changes to the Test tour.
"I just really sought to understand whether there was any uncertainty in his mind. He's clarified that there's not, that everything is going ahead as scheduled," Sutherland said.
Ultimately it will be the COA, not Johri, calling the shots.
Eyebrows were raised when the Test series schedule was originally announced as three of the four grounds have never hosted a Test.
That includes Dharamsala's HPCA Stadium, the scenic oval nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas that Thakur helped build. His exit led to speculation Dharamsala could be stripped of its first Test having hosted international one- day and T20 clashes since 2013.
AAP
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