Mini-IPL in America put on hold, Anurag Thakur blames time difference: Report

New Delhi: The much anticipated mini-Indian Premier League in the United States of America runs into trouble water with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur blaming the time difference as a big hurdle.

"I think we must understand the time difference," Thakur told ESPNcricinfo. "IPL is seen in India from 7 o'clock to 11 or 11.30 at night. So you have to play somewhere in the east coast here (USA) so [that] the timing matches.

If we have to play in the day here, the matches should be seen in India at night because broadcasting is a big thing. So you can't make your home fan lose [by] playing outside India. So which are the provinces you can play in United States? That's a big task," he explained.

The proposed tournament was touted as one of the steps to introduce cricket in big ways in America. But the timing issues seemed the have put on hold on the plans.

For that matter of fact, the BCCI, according to Thakur, are not even thinking of moving the lucrative tournament outside India.

"IPL, we are not even thinking of hosting it outside India. It has to be hosted in India, but there are many other options what you can do which we'll let you know over a period of time when we come out with a long-term plan for this market," he added.

The BCCI had announced the idea of a 'mini IPL' or 'IPL overseas' in June when Thakur had said the board would host the tournament in September. The USA and UAE were options being discussed at the IPL governing council and working committee meetings earlier this year.