New Delhi: In its bid to beat the extreme May heat in most parts of the country, BCCI is contemplating an early start to the IPL, eyeing a March 10-May 15 window for future editions starting next year, Board secretary Devajit Saikia told PTI in an exclusive interview.
However, he made it clear that due to international calendar constraints, the number of matches will remain 74 and not be increased to 94.
The IPL usually gets underway in the last week of March and winds up towards the end of May. Saikia said an early IPL would protect the interest of both players as well as the paying public.
“This year, IPL started around March 29th (28th), and it was over by May 31. Only thing which we are discussing is that during the fag end of the tournament after May 15…there is apprehension of having rainfall or 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 said in the interaction.
He said the BCCI is working on advancing the itinerary by two weeks to beat the rising mercury during the latter part of May.
“So therefore, there is a discussion going on in 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,” he said.
“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 whether we can start it by 10th of March and conclude it by 15th of May. So that there are no adverse weather conditions in the run-up to the playoff and the finals of the IPL 2027 which will be the 20th edition,” Saikia informed.
Saikia said he has also got complaints from players as well as fans about heat in the northern and western part of India during 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 acclimatised to play in such hot conditions.
“So, to provide a pleasant atmosphere for the tournament, we want to close it by 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.
While there has been some talk about increasing the number of games, Saikia explained in detail why it is not possible to go beyond 74.
“…that is not feasible right at this moment because we have to consider many other factors regarding various players coming from various nations. With lot of difficulties, we are getting this two-month window,” he said.
“It will be very difficult to go beyond two months because other countries also have to pay bilateral matches…So at this moment, there is no discussion regarding increasing matches from 74 to 94. Not happening immediately,” he was categorical in his statement.
However, Saikia, who also serves as the Advocate General of Assam, did not rule out possibilities in distant future.
“In course of later years, I do not know what will be the position 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, West Indies,” he said.
“We do not want to upset bilateral matches, also and other multi-country tournaments.”
Saikia was satisfied that BCCI was able to successfully complete the 19th edition of the IPL this year despite the tournament being held amid a crisis in West Asia.
Saikia also spoke about why it is important to ensure that Indian domestic competitions end by the first week of March.
“If you look at our domestic cricket, it is a robust system which is in place. We started sometime in the later part of August with 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 7-8 months long period of domestic cricket. We have to squeeze in some of the matches, so that we finish our domestic cricket by 10th of March, so that we can start it (IPL) immediately,” he said.
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