BCCI is evaluating the feasibility of bilateral, IPL likely from early March

As the Indian Premier League tries to spread its wings and carve out a bigger window, the Indian Cricket Board is already evaluating the possibility of shortening several bilateral series. The IPL, currently a 74-game tournament, cannot function in a full home-and-away format for all 10 teams.

To move the tournament to a full home-and-away system, an additional 20 matches would need to be added, turning the IPL into a 94-game event. IPL Commissioner Arun Dhumal has already hinted in an interview with India Today that the BCCI is interested in expanding the league to a 94-game format and that it is only a matter of time before it happens. Time remains the biggest hurdle in the expansion of the tournament due to the busy international calendar managed by the International Cricket Council. The rise of multi-country franchise tournaments has only added to this pressure.

A BCCI source told PTI that a feasible way to accommodate the 94-game IPL schedule would be to start the tournament in the first week of March instead of the last week. This would create space for more matches.

An inevitable casualty of this expansion would be bilateral cricket (a series between two nations), which could see a reduction in the number of matches.

A BCCI source on the matter suggested that broadcasters are already losing interest in bilateral cricket due to viewer fatigue and the board is considering its options to cut several such series in the near future.

The source added that from the 2028 season onwards, the IPL could start in early March, though no final call has been taken yet.

“We can’t play 94 games in the current window because the monsoon starts after May. Either we split into two halves or we do it from the first week of March and we have it till May 15. That would be the best window when 94 games are played.”

“We also need to see the feasibility of bilateral series going forward. Each country has its own league, they are not completely dependent on India to host the series. So we need to see the feasibility of bilateral series going forward. The broadcaster no longer sees the value in some of the bilateral series being played. If cricket has to go the football way, all boards have to be on board,” the BCCI source added.

TOO MANY ICC EVENTS

One of the main criticisms of the cricket calendar has been the increasing number of ICC events. The ICC now organizes one global event each year. Add in continental tournaments organized by bodies such as the Asian Cricket Council and the existing bilateral structure, and the schedule just fills up.

The BCCI, the world’s most powerful cricket board, is unlikely to jeopardize its flagship product, the IPL, the tournament on which much of the modern cricket ecosystem is now built.

Several IPL franchises have already expanded into other T20 leagues around the world as cricket moves closer to a football-style franchise model. While this shift is still some way off, comments from a BCCI source suggest that, on paper at least, the board is starting to think along these lines.

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

13 Jun 2026 16:28 IST