Will IPL last for 3 months: 10 teams will play 94 matches till 2027

Will IPL last for 3 months: 10 teams will play 94 matches till 2027

The 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will start after 4 days on March 22. There will be 70 league stage matches between 10 teams in the tournament. Apart from these, there will be 4 playoff matches.

After the broadcast deal of Rs 48 thousand crore made in 2022, it was decided that there will be a total of 94 matches between 10 teams in 2027. If 94 matches are played in IPL then the tournament can last for 3 months.

BCCI will benefit from this, but international cricket may suffer loss. However, this will not be the first instance in global sports when the dominance of franchise-based leagues will increase. In football and basketball, international matches have already come to dominate league matches. Is cricket also on the same path?

Made a plan to increase the match after the broadcast deal

Before the 16th season of IPL in 2022, BCCI signed a record broadcast deal for TV and digital rights. The board received Rs 48,390 crore for 5 years of competitions. With this the Indian Premier League became the second richest league in the world. America's National Football League (NFL) is at number one.

Only after the broadcast deal, BCCI decided that there will be 74 IPL matches in the seasons of 2023 and 2024. There will be 84 matches in the 2025 and 2026 seasons, while the 2027 season will have 94 matches between 10 teams. Then a team will play 18 matches in the league stage and including 4 playoffs there will be a total of 94 matches.

If matches increase, tournament duration will also increase.

Currently, 74 matches of IPL are held in 59 days, which means the matches last for about 2 months. Taking the example of last season, two matches (double headers) had to be conducted in a day 18 times. If 94 matches are played in a season, then the season can last for about 75 days i.e. two and a half months.

If the number of double header matches is not increased with time, it may take 80 to 85 days to conduct all the matches. By the year 2028, if even one or two teams increase in the tournament, then it will take 90 days i.e. 3 months to complete the tournament.

Apart from IPL, other cricket leagues end within 27 to 45 days. Australia's Big Bash League runs the longest after IPL for 50 days.

The first season ran for 43 days

The first season of IPL started in 2008. The 8-team tournament ran for 43 days, with each team playing a total of 14 matches in the league stage. A total of 59 matches were played in the tournament including 2 semi-finals and the final. A total of 74 matches were played last season in 2023. The tournament between 10 teams lasted for 59 days. In this, 70 matches of league stage and 4 matches of playoff were played.

There are no plans to increase the teams right now, we can't say anything about the future.

After the broadcaster deal, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal had said, 'There will be only 10 teams in the tournament till 2027. If the teams are increased then it will not be possible to hold all the matches in one season. There are 94 matches to be held by the year 2027, so the tournament will be very long. However, what will happen next cannot be said yet.

Expert said – there can be 2 seasons of IPL in a year

Former Team India coach Ravi Shastri has said, '2 IPL seasons of 70-70 matches can also be conducted in a year. There may soon be a tournament of 140 matches. Looking at the progress of IPL, this seems to be the future.

Commentator Aakash Chopra said, 'In future, there may be 2 seasons of IPL every year. I don't think it's too far away now.'

However, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal said, 'The cricket tournament cannot be prolonged much longer than this. Because unlike football and rugby, playing cricket on the same pitch for 6 consecutive months is not possible. Therefore, this will be kept in mind in future also.

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