BCCI Secretary Jay Shah Confirms IPL To Have Two And A Half Month Window; 94 Matches

BCCI secretary Jay Shah has confirmed that the Indian Premier League will get 15 extra days of the window, stretching the total period to two and a half months in International Cricket Council (ICC) next Futures Tour Program (FTP) cycle.

This comes after the BCCI pocketed more than INR 48,000 crores in the e-auction of the IPL media rights. A total amount of Rs 48,390 crore for a five-year period (2023-2027) was bid by various companies for the Indian Premier League.

The Package A (of TV) has been sold to Star India at Rs 23,575 crore which is Rs 57.5 crore per match and Package B of Digital Rights as well as Package C for selected 18 games in digital space for India each season has been sold to Viacom18 at Rs 23,758.

For The Next Cycle, We Will Have 410 Games, With 74 Games Each In The First Two Seasons: BCCI Secretary Jay Shah

There were four specific packages in which e-auction was conducted for 74 games per season for a five-year period with a provision of increasing the number of matches to 94 in the final two years. Package C is for 18 selected games in each season for digital space. In Package D all games will be for combined TV and digital rights for overseas markets.

In a press conference after the IPL media rights e-auction, Jay Shah was asked why BCCI scaled up the cumulative base price of media rights in excess of Rs 32,500 crore. He was also asked about IPL having 94 games in a single season.

In reply, Shah said: “You need to understand that in 2018, it was for 60 games. For the next cycle, we will have 410 games, with 74 games each in the first two seasons and then 84 games in the next and finally 94 in the 2027 edition.

That is an aspect we have worked upon. Let me inform you that from the next ICC FTP calendar, IPL will have an official two-and-a-half-month window so that all the top international cricketers can participate. We have had discussions with various boards as well as the ICC.”

The IPL 2022 saw addition of two new teams in Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, making IPL a 10-team tournament and if all teams play one another twice in league stages and then add the 4 playoff matches, the total comes to 94 matches.

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