There will be hardly any enhancement in the number of matches constituting the Indian Premier League by Board of Control for Cricket in India. This was highlighted by ESPNCricinfo on Thursday with respect to the 2025 season of the world’s costliest franchise cricket will also see 74 matches as a total. The total sits a whopping 10 matches fewer than the 84 matches that were on record of IPL in 2022 during which media rights for the 2023-2027 cycle were bought.
In the tender document for the new rights cycle, the IPL listed Seasonal production of varying number of matches. which showed that 74 games each would be played in 2023 and 2024, 84 matches each in 2025 and 2026, and the last year of the agreement in 2027 produced a staggering 94 matches.
As noted in the article, the principal factor for maintaining the same number of matches is the management of the player’s workload. With a class granted No.1 position in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points, India is about to engage in a five-match Test series with England after the WTC final against England which will be held at the Lord’s. Even if the BCCI is able to achieve the WTC final round, the BCCI would want in their preparations for the looming tournament full rest for the players.
The 2024 edition of the IPL took place between March 22 and May 26, 2024 while the 2025 edition is predicted to take place between the mid-march and the last week of may.
“We have not taken a call on organising 84 matches in IPL 2025 since we also have to factor the load on the players due to the increase in matches,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah told the Economic Times recently. “While it’s (84 matches) part of the contract, it’s upon the BCCI to decide whether they will conduct 74 or 84 matches.”
