Chairman Arun Singh Dhumal revealed that the Indian Premier League (IPL) plans on adding 94 matches by 2028 which would mean that all 10 teams in the league would play home and away fixtures.
The IPL increased the number of matches to 74 in the 2022 season with the addition of the Lucknow SuperGiants and the Gujarat Titans as new franchises.
When asked whether the tournament will be added in the International Cricket Council FTP (Future Tours Programme) calendar starting 2028, Dhumal said that talks have already been initiated with the governing body of the world and the Indian board (BCCI).
“We want a bigger window, ideally, or go from the 74 IPL matches to 84 or 94; that is the target. Every team must play one another home and away, you would need 94 games for that,” said Dhumal.
Dhumal continues to explain that given the amount of bilateral cricket and ICC events, it is not possible at the moment. “There’s been so much cricket.”
“We (India) had this Champions Trophy coming up and on top of that we had the IPL and came back from a test series in Australia. To prepare for all of this, it was dediced that going from 74 to 84 (in 2025) would not make sense, but we will take that call whenever we deem it fit.”
It’s fairly obvious that the increasing number of profitable domestic Twenty20 leagues is putting colossal stress to an already stretched cricket calendar further. The addition of new competitions in recent years has significantly reduced the time allocated for tests and one-day internationals.
These changes have led some international players to likely retire from certain formats because of jugged up demands.
Last year, data published by the Professional Cricketers Association showed that a large number of professionals in England and Wales reported being highly concerned about the county cricket schedule.