IPL 2017: Mumbai and Bengaluru to host playoffs, final in Hyderabad

Given that there has been a difference of opinion between the BCCI’s Committee of Administrators (CoA) and the office bearers over who should have the final say in the affairs of the board, Thursday’s IPL Governing Council's meeting surprisingly went ahead with a cordial atmosphere, without any untoward incidents.

The CoA and the office bearers, which included IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly were reported to be on the same page for the venue agreement, logistics and payment issues. The staging associations have already been promised financial assistance to meet the expenses for hosting the games.

At the meeting, it was revealed that Mumbai would host the first qualifier while the eliminator would take place in Bangalore. Shukla said Mumbai has been given the qualifier as it missed out last year, due to the drought issue. Mumbai lost out on last year's IPL Playoff because of the drought issue. That is why Mumbai has been shortlisted for one of the qualifiers."

TOI reported Shukla, who chaired the meeting, also as saying, "I have no issue with anyone chairing the meeting. The Governing Council exists as of now and Shukla is the chairman of the committee. He was also a part of the IPL auction in Bangalore. I am here with a purpose to implement the Lodha reforms and I don't have any difference of opinion with anyone running the sport. But if anyone comes in between our line of work, I will certainly get into the picture. That is the mandate given to us by the Supreme Court."

He also confirmed that the meeting went well saying, "Our job is to ensure that IPL-10 gets maximum success. We have the support of Rai, who is the head of the CoA."

Finally, Shukla also added, "Five legends of Indian cricket - Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag - will be felicitated during the opening ceremony in Hyderabad on April 5."

However, it must be said that it’s surprising that Kumble has not been included in the list, given that his contributions are also equally noteworthy.