Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: IPL window likely to be two and a half months soon – BCCI | BCCI lays out plans for bigger IPL window in the future
The Indian Premier League (IPL) will have a bigger two-and-a-half-month-long window in the next Future Tours Program (FTP) of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), made the announcement in the aftermath of the highly-anticipated IPL media rights auction. Shah has confirmed that the IPL could consist of 84 and 94 games per season towards the end of the coming cycle that rounds up in 2027.
“That is an aspect we have worked upon. Let me inform you that from the next ICC FTP calendar, IPL will have an official two-and-a-half-month window so that all the top international cricketers can participate. We have had discussions with various boards as well as the ICC,” the BCCI secretary told the Press Trust of India (PTI), as reported by the ESPN Cricinfo.
IPL window could be in two separate phases in a calendar year
The ongoing FTP of the ICC ends with the One Day International (ODI) World Cup that will take place in October-November 2023. The BCCI is considering several alternatives to conduct the long-drawn format of the tournament in the future. There are possibilities of it being staged in two separate phases in a calendar year. Shah assured that discussions are ongoing with several stakeholders over these proposals.
With respect to enhancing the brand value of the IPL, the BCCI secretary explained that the franchises could even play some overseas friendly games in the future. “There are also multiple proposals for all the IPL franchises of playing friendlies overseas. That idea is being seriously contemplated but for that we also need to speak to other boards as we would need to know the schedule of international players,” he opened up on this newfound idea.
“That is an aspect we have worked upon. Let me inform you that from the next ICC FTP calendar, IPL will have an official two-and-a-half-month window so that all the top international cricketers can participate. We have had discussions with various boards as well as the ICC”
Jay Shah
BCCI doesn’t want to compromise international cricket
The BCCI is also working around ensuring that the international calendar isn’t troubled owing to a longer window for the IPL. Shah pointed out at the example of India playing Ireland in a limited-overs series next month and stated that the board is committed to competing even against the smaller nations to help the game grow in such countries.
“All bilateral international commitments across all formats will be honoured. We are playing Ireland in two T20 Internationals this month only. We want a strong robust international circuit and want to help the smaller cricketing nations by playing against them,” Shah was quoted in the aforementioned report.
He added that two separate Indian teams could play international matches in different countries simultaneously. England have done this in recent years, and they will do so again when the ODI team takes on Netherlands this week during the New Zealand Test series. Shah has already held discussions with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) Director VVS Laxman to expand the talent pool and it is important to reiterate that the IPL has and will have a significant role to play in that.
“I have had discussions with NCA [National Cricket Academy] head VVS Laxman and we will always have 50 players in our roster. In future, you will have a scenario, where the Indian Test team will be playing a series in one country and the white-ball team will be engaged in a series in a different country. We are going in that direction where we will have two national teams ready at the same time,” the BCCI secretary signed off.
