Longer IPL to corner quarter of cricket’s calendar

Mumbai: For the next three seasons, Indian Premier League (IPL) has carved out its biggest window ever. It will run for 72 days next year, up from 66 in 2024, and stretch to 78 days for in 2026 and 2027. By keeping for itself a quarter of the calendar year – including pre-tournament training days – IPL has consolidated its top position among all tournaments. Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 is slated to begin on March 14 with the final on May 25. (AFP)

As per an internal communication to the 10 franchises ahead of the November 24-25 mega auction, IPL 2025 is slated to begin on March 14 with the final on May 25. The start is unusually close to the 2025 Champions Trophy, which, as per the provisional schedule, is scheduled to end on March 9.

Next year’s IPL will remain a 74-match affair and not scale up to 84 matches as mentioned in the 2023-27 media rights’ tender document. There is a plan from 2027 to have teams playing each other twice and the tournament expanded to 94 matches. It is not clear if the additional days mean more matches. Every IPL match is worth ₹118 crore.

For the benefit of broadcasters, the longer season will also cut down on double headers. Afternoon matches at the weekend garner less viewership than those played at prime time under lights. There were 11 double headers in IPL 2024, 18 in 2023.

IPL has grown exponentially from the first edition in 2008 which had eight teams playing 59 matches over 44 days. Till 2017, when IPL’s media rights value shot up, overseas players’ availability was a constant challenge with boards often unwilling to accommodate players’ demand to maximize their earning potential in India.

Now, while other T20 leagues and bilateral series grapple for player availability, IPL, given its lucrative salaries, faces no such problem. The team purse available to each franchise in this year’s mega auction has gone up by 20 per cent to ₹120 crore. South African big-hitter Heinrich Klassen has already secured a ₹23 crore annual contract after being retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad.

South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe have communicated to IPL availability of all their players for the season. In a significant boost to franchises, all of England’s 18 contracted players except Test captain Ben Stokes will also mostly be available for the next three terms.

Australian players will be available for IPL 2025 and miss only the first week of the 2026 edition because of a possible clash of dates with an Australia-Pakistan ODI series. England and Australia players may miss the start of IPL 2027 for a one-off Test between them to be played between March 11-15.

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