The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been given a massive jolt as their dream of extending the IPL to a 74-day affair from IPL 2023 is all but diminished because of the World Test Championship final.
The BCCI have been planning to extend the IPL to 74 days from the upcoming season having already sealed the astronomical broadcast rights deal for the 2023-27 cycle. However, the board now has had to put their plans on hold because of the ICC deciding to start the WTC final from June 7.
Though not yet officially announced, the IPL 2023 is reportedly set to kick-start on April 1, and the final, in a 74-day tournament would have been held in mid-June. Most of the March month is set aside by the BCCI for the inaugural edition of the Women’s IPL, which will be followed by the men’s IPL 2023.
However, since the WTC final, at the Oval, is likely to have the starting date of June 7, the BCCI will be asked to conclude the IPL 2023 by May 30 or May 31 – because of the ICCC’s rule that no tournament should be held seven days before and after an ICC event.
“If you look at the entire window, it is longer. We have WIPL and IPL for close to 3 months. But yes, IPL itself is difficult to be longer at this point. But the dates are not final. So, we are still trying to figure out the duration, start and end date suitable not just for players but also for the broadcasters,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
After the BCCI had struck their seismic broadcasting and digital rights deal, wherein they will make INR 107 crore per IPL game for the 2023-27 cycle, it was said that the board is pondering over increasing the matches to 84 in the 10 team tournament, and even by 2026 reach 94 matches, with a full-fledged home and away format.
In the IPL 2022, all 10 teams played 14 league matches each. The IPL will return to home and away format from IPL 2023, however, all teams won’t compete with each other twice as they did in the 8-team tournament. In a 94-game IPL, this could be made possible, but it is certainly not happening IPL 2023.
“We have been talking with our fellow Member Boards and the ICC about having a bigger dedicated window for the IPL. Let me assure you that there will be a two-and-a-half-month window in the next ICC FTP calendar so that all top international players can participate. Since this tournament benefits all we have received a positive response from the ICC and other member boards,” Jay Shah had reportedly said earlier.
BCCI concerned that Australian players may not play in the playoffs in IPL 2023
There is also the issue of availability, especially of Australian players for the playoffs of the IPL 2023. Since Australia are favorites to reach the WTC final – they already are at the top – the Cricket Australia (CA) could call them back early before the playoffs.
