New Delhi: Unless the Chennai Super Kings and/or the Rajasthan Royals procure a stay order either from a high court or the Supreme Court, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will work on Plan A or B.
There's no Plan C.
According to well-placed sources of The Telegraph, the two possibilities are:
(A) That the BCCI adopts the Super Kings and the Royals. Both would, then, be managed by a top-bracket team comprising former cricketers of eminence and big achievers from the world of business. In other words, men with credibility;
(B) Tenders get floated for bids for two new franchises, possibly for two cities from among Ahmedabad, Indore, Pune, Kanpur, Kochi and Ranchi. If that happens, every single Super Kings and Royals player will be auctioned.
Assuming that eventually is the way forward, then the IPL would revert to a 10-team competition from 2018, after the two-year suspension of the Super Kings and the Royals.
The possibilities, one understands, were discussed between Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, and Rajeev Shukla, chairman of the IPL's governing council, in Calcutta, on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Shukla, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha and a former Union minister, neither confirmed nor denied the two possibilities.
"The governing council meets in Mumbai on Sunday and a sub-committee will be formed to suggest ways on implementing the Justice (retd) Rajendra Mal Lodha committee's recommendations to the BCCI...
"Any decision taken would be done collectively, protecting the players and the IPL property which has, over the years, grown," Shukla said at his sprawling Safdarjung Road residence.
The sub-committee, one learns, will comprise some members of the IPL's governing council and legal eagles.
There's too much of legal work involved.
For purposes of continuity, that sub-committee is also likely to be chaired by Shukla.
Shukla added: "That the IPL's next edition is in April 2016 gives us enough breathing time. In any case, the BCCI won't do anything in a hurry. It doesn't have to."
Meanwhile, fresh bids won't be sought for the franchises after 2017, when the first 10 editions of the IPL get completed.
Instead, a new "revenue model" would come into effect, with the franchisees not having to pay an annual fee to the BCCI.
They will, however, have to part with a "fixed percentage" of their profits. Annually, that is.