IPL Considers 84 Game Season

The BCCI is actively considering expanding the IPL season to 94 matches from 2028, but has no plans to introduce new franchises in the near future.

The league expanded to its current 74-match format in 2022 following the sale of the Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants franchises.

Initial plans to grow to 84 matches for 2025 were delayed owing to a scheduling crunch around the tournament’s window and the broadcasters’ aversion to too many double-headers, but expansion remains on the table in the medium term.

The IPL’s window in the future tours programme are locked in for the next two years, running from mid-March until the end of May.

But Arun Dhumal, the IPL’s chairman, said the BCCI will seriously consider an expansion to a full home-and-away, 94-match format for the next media-rights cycle, which will start in 2028.

The duration of the IPL’s window will form part of the discussions next year when boards thrash out the details of the next FTP.

Officials at multiple franchises said they would prefer a 94-match season, but an increase would likely depend on broadcaster interest.

TV and streaming numbers typically drop midway through the IPL season, which broadcasters privately attribute to viewer fatigue.

The 2025 edition will stretch to nine weeks, with 12 double-headers scheduled, and an increase to a full home-and-away season would likely require two more weeks in the international calendar.