The new Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Arun Dhumal has said the popular T20 league will become the biggest sporting league in the world in the next five years. He also added that the BCCI has a clear plan for the Women’s IPL which will begin next year.
IPL has become the second most valued sporting league globally in terms of per-match value after the media rights for the 2023-2027 cycle fetched a staggering Rs 48,390 crore. Though IPL has a shorter window when compared to football leagues like EPL or the NFL in the United States, the cricketing league is expected to have a two-and-half month-exclusive window comprising a maximum of 94 games with 10 teams in coming years.
“The IPL will be much bigger than what it is and will be the number one sports league in the world. We are definitely looking at various innovations that can be brought to make it more fan-friendly. For those who are watching it on Tv and those who are experiencing at the stadium, we want them to have a better experience. “If we can make the IPL schedule well in advance, people from all around the world can plan their travel accordingly. It should be a value-for-money experience for the fans,” Dhumal told PTI.
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However, he confirmed that the number of teams will remain at 10.
“Teams will stay at 10 only. If you increase that, it becomes difficult to have the tournament in one go. We are looking at 74 games to begin with for the first two seasons, then 84 and if things permit maybe 94 in the fifth year of the media rights cycle, that itself would make it a long enough event,” said Dhumal.
Referring to both contract and non-contracted India players, Dhumal said the BCCI has no plans to change its existing policy of preserving its players amid a hectic calendar and not letting them play in foreign leagues.
“This in principle is the decision of BCCI that our contracted players can’t go and play for other leagues. As it is there is so much of cricket happening. Keeping in mind their overall well-being that decision has been taken. As of now, we stick to that decision. Even the non-contracted ones are aspiring to play for India,” he said.
The IPL 2023 auction is expected to take place in December this year and the franchises have until November 15 to give the names of the players they retained and released.
(PTI inputs)
