BCCI takes Bold Step; IPL Set to be Played in Original Format

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is all set to expand from the 2028 season, according to the tournament's chairman, Arun Dhumal. Currently, the IPL has 74 matches in total, including the playoffs and the final. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering expanding the game from the next cycle, starting from 2028.

It is believed that the Indian board is considering expanding the league to 94 matches in total. The tournament is set to be played in the original home and away format from the IPL 2028, according to the IPL chairman. The league's expansion will create a huge impact on the ICC's cricket calendar. Earlier, all the teams played each other twice, once at home and once away.

IPL back to Original Format

The IPL increased to 74 matches in 2022 after the addition of the two new teams, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants. The league consisted of eight teams earlier, but the addition of the two new teams prompted the tournament organisers to increase the no. of matches.

With the increase in the no. of games, it also increased the no. of days in which the tournament was played. The league has gone on to become huge and is constantly expanding with every passing year in terms of revenue and competition. As a result, there was a need to increase the no. of teams as well.

With the tournament growing so successfully, the BCCI is looking to increase the no. of matches from 74 to 94. It means that each team will play the other team twice, at home and away. It was the original format opted by the league in its initial editions till 2021. Before the start of IPL 2025, there were speculations that the tournament would increase the no. of matches to 84, but it wasn't made possible due to India's packed international calendar.

“Definitely, that might be an opportunity (to increase the no. of matches). We've been discussing in ICC, we've been discussing in-house in BCCI. Given how the interest of the fan is changing with regard to bilateral and ICC events, in regard to franchise cricket and T20 cricket, we'll have to talk more seriously about it and see how we can create maximum value for the stakeholders of the game,” Dhumal said.

“Ideally, we'd want a larger window, or to maybe go on from 74 to 84 or 94 at some point so that every team gets to play against every team home and away, for that, you need 94 games,” he was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

The IPL window is already locked for the 2025-27 cycle, which means that the plan to increase the no. of games can only become possible from 2028. It remains to be seen how the BCCI convinces the ICC, which isn't going to be straightforward.

No New Teams in IPL

While the no. of matches is set to increase, there is no plan to increase the no. of teams, especially in the near future. Dhumal claimed that the BCCI is focused on maintaining the quality of the league instead of increasing the no. of teams. However, he didn't rule out the possibility of increasing the teams in the near future.

"Ten is a good number for now. Paramount is the interest in the tournament and the quality of cricket that we play; I don't see any scope in the short term. Going forward, with how this whole landscape evolves, we'll take a call accordingly," he mentioned.

The quality of cricket has always been prioritized by the BCCI in the case of IPL. As a result, the league has been constantly growing over the years, with some incredible competition between all the teams. The current IPL season has already seen some thrillers and is expected to see many more. The IPL 2025 final will be played on May 25 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.