Back home games might be coming back to IPL seasons before long - pushing match counts up toward 94 instead of 74. Still, it hinges on finding more room in an overloaded global cricket timetable.
Now that ten teams take part, starting back in 2022 when Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants joined, the IPL uses split groups. Because of this setup, most sides won’t face certain others two times before the playoffs begin.
IPL looking for bigger window after 2027
Back then, the IPL used a system where every team played each opponent twice, once at their own ground, once at the rival's. With ten sides involved now, sticking to that setup meant far more games piling up, stretching the event much longer than before.
Right now, global cricket schedules are fixed by the FTP through to 2027, so there's hardly any space to squeeze in more IPL games. Although stacking two matches on the same day came up as a fix, sources say networks aren’t keen; ratings and ad income could take a hit.
Games might get extra space in the coming schedule, says IPL's Arun Dhumal. Not happening, as more sides are joining the league.
“With the given set of teams, only we can go for a larger number of matches. So it doesn’t make sense as of now to increase the number of teams,” Dhumal said, as quoted by India Today.
“Because if we have to have an equal number of home and away matches, from 74 we can go up to 94. That would be the ideal situation,” he added.
After 2027, more matches might come, Dhumal pointed out once today’s agreements run their course.
“Since the bilaterals are locked in till 2027, we would need a bigger window to raise the number of games from 74 to 94. So we are looking for a bigger window post-2027 bilateral cycle. In case we can get that, we will definitely try to have 94 games,” he said.
Also Read: Today's cricket news
Opening day for the 19th IPL season fell on March 28, with finals set for May 31.
