The Indian Premier League is planning a return to a full home-and-away format, which could increase the number of matches from 74 to 94. However, this expansion depends on the availability of a larger
window in an already packed international cricket calendar.
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Since the league expanded from eight to 10 teams in 2022 with the addition of Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, not every team has been able to play each opponent twice in a season thanks to a virtual grouping format.
In the earlier eight-team format, the IPL followed a double round-robin system, with each team facing every other side twice.
Maintaining that structure after the expansion would have significantly increased the number of matches and extended the duration of the tournament. However, the schedule has been fixed under the Future Tour Programme (FTP) until 2027, leaving limited flexibility to accommodate additional games.
One option could’ve been to increase the number of double-headers, but reports suggest this is not preferred by broadcasters due to concerns over viewership and reduced advertising revenue.
IPL chairman Arun Dhumal has said the board will look to secure a larger window in the next FTP cycle to allow for an expanded format.
He though ruled out the addition of more teams.
“With the given set of teams, only we can go for more number of matches. So it doesn’t make sense as of now to increase the number of teams. Because if we have to have an equal number of home and away matches, from 74 we can go up to 94. That would be the ideal situation,” Dhumal was quoted as saying by India Today.
“Since the bilaterals are locked in till 2027, we would need a bigger window to raise the number of games from 74 to 94. So we are looking for a bigger window post-2027 bilateral cycle. In case we can get that, we will definitely try to have 94 games,” he added.
The 19th season of the IPL began on March 28 and is scheduled to conclude on May 31.
