The IPL 2026 began on March 29 and finished on May 31.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has given a giant update on Indian Premier League (IPL) scheduling going forward. The BCCI is considering an early IPL start to combat the intense May heat in most of the nation.
Typically, the IPL begins in the final week of March and ends at the end of May. An early IPL, according to Saikia, would safeguard the interests of both players and the paying public.
"This year, the IPL started around March 29th (28th) and was over by May 31st. The only thing that we are discussing is that during the fag end of the tournament, after May 15...there is apprehension of having rainfall or the pre-monsoon season starting. On the other hand, there is hot weather, which is not very conducive either for the players or for the crowds," Saikia told PTI.
He stated that to avoid the rising temperatures in the latter part of May, the BCCI is attempting to move the schedule forward by two weeks.
"So, therefore, there is a discussion going on in the BCCI as well as in our IPL Governing Council regarding whether we can start the tournament a little bit earlier than the fag end of March. From next year, we will make an effort, and I have already instructed our general manager (games development) (former pacer Abbey Kuruvilla) to look for the windows for whether we can start it by the 10th of March and conclude it by the 15th of May. So that there are no adverse weather conditions in the run-up to the playoffs and the finals of the IPL 2027, which will be the 20th edition," Saikia informed.
Saikia also informed me that he had received complaints from the players and fans as well about the heat in the north and west parts of India during the IPL matches.
"I'm hearing a lot of complaints from the fans as well as from the players, because not all players are very well equipped or well acclimatized to play in such hot conditions.
So, to provide a pleasant atmosphere for the tournament, we want to close it by the 15th of May. That is our first goal now, and that is the prime area of concern for the next year's 20th edition of IPL, which will be a big event," he said.
Saikia was also asked about the plans for increasing the number of matches in one IPL season from 74. However, the BCCI secretary explained in detail why that was not possible.
“That is not feasible right at this moment because we have to consider many other factors regarding various players coming from various nations. With a lot of difficulties, we are getting this two-month window. It will be very difficult to go beyond two months because other countries also have to pay for bilateral matches... So at this moment, there is no discussion regarding increasing matches from 74 to 94. Not happening immediately," Saikia said.
However, he didn’t rule out the possibility of an increase in the number of matches in the future.
"In the course of later years, I do not know what the position will be, but right at this moment, I don't see any possibility of increasing it from 74 to 94 because for that, it is not only India that is to be considered but also the interest of other cricketing nations of the ICC, especially players from Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, and the West Indies. We do not want to upset bilateral matches, also other multi-country tournaments," he said.
Despite the event taking place amid a crisis in West Asia, Saikia was pleased that the BCCI was able to successfully conclude the 19th season of the IPL this year. Saikia also discussed the importance of ensuring that domestic tournaments in India conclude by the first week of March.
"If you look at our domestic cricket, it is a robust system that is in place. We started sometime in the latter part of August with the Irani Trophy and all the matches, and it goes up to the Ranji Trophy Final, which happens in the month of March.
Already, we have about a 7-8 month-long period of domestic cricket. We have to squeeze in some of the matches so that we finish our domestic cricket by the 10th of March, so that we can start it (IPL) immediately," he said.
(PTI inputs)