Mumbai: It may be time for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to rethink its calendar and give T20 leagues precedence over bilateral series, which are losing steam with fans and sponsors alike, Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Arun Dhumal has said.
"Cricket is shifting its flavour towards franchise-based formats. If that is the case, we have to prepare ourselves for that situation," Dhumal told ET in an interaction. "So, if that has to happen, the entire scheduling needs to be aligned around these T20 leagues-be it the IPL, Big Bash League, The Hundred, SA20, MLC, or ILT20. At some point, we may need to sit around the table with all stakeholders and decide what should be prioritised."
The T20 format has not only reignited interest in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and Test matches but has also played a key role in expanding cricket's footprint to emerging markets such as the United States and Europe, Dhumal noted.
"Based on what weather conditions work best for each country, you schedule your leagues accordingly and then plan the bilateral series around them," he said.
Currently, the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Future Tours Programme (FTP) is structured around bilateral Tests, ODIs, and ICC events, with the IPL being the only T20 league to have a dedicated window.
There are multiple T20 leagues including Australia's Big Bash League, South Africa's SA20, the England and Wales Cricket Board's The Hundred, the UAE's International League T20, and the Caribbean Premier League. Most of these leagues are inspired by the IPL and have IPL team owners-such as Reliance, GMR, and Sun TV Network-owning teams.
"The IPL is the number one 'Make in India' property post-Independence," Dhumal said.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which owns the IPL, sold the league's media rights for ₹48,390 crore for 2023-27 period.
The proposed expansion of IPL to an 84-match format will depend on the availability of a suitable window in the international calendar, Dhumal said. For IPL 2025, the tournament has retained the 74-match format to manage player workload and accommodate a packed FTP schedule.
"There is no point in adding new teams to the IPL when we are not yet able to optimise the existing structure with 10 teams," he said.
According to Dhumal, IPL's current April-May window is becoming tricky to manage due to shifting weather patterns-the Southwest monsoon arrived almost two weeks early this year. But advancing the event is also challenging as the FTP has been finalised until 2027 and media rights deals have already been signed based on that schedule.
India is the driver of the global cricket economy, with the ICC generating over 70% of its revenue from the Indian market.
The IPL chairman noted that other ICC member boards are struggling to sell media rights for bilateral series and have been requesting the BCCI to play such series to help boost their revenues.
He said IPL viewership continues to remain strong on TV and digital platforms, despite a one-week suspension caused by the India-Pakistan conflict, which disrupted the tournament's momentum.
"Cricket is shifting its flavour towards franchise-based formats. If that is the case, we have to prepare ourselves for that situation," Dhumal told ET in an interaction. "So, if that has to happen, the entire scheduling needs to be aligned around these T20 leagues-be it the IPL, Big Bash League, The Hundred, SA20, MLC, or ILT20. At some point, we may need to sit around the table with all stakeholders and decide what should be prioritised."
The T20 format has not only reignited interest in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and Test matches but has also played a key role in expanding cricket's footprint to emerging markets such as the United States and Europe, Dhumal noted.
"Based on what weather conditions work best for each country, you schedule your leagues accordingly and then plan the bilateral series around them," he said.
Currently, the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Future Tours Programme (FTP) is structured around bilateral Tests, ODIs, and ICC events, with the IPL being the only T20 league to have a dedicated window.
There are multiple T20 leagues including Australia's Big Bash League, South Africa's SA20, the England and Wales Cricket Board's The Hundred, the UAE's International League T20, and the Caribbean Premier League. Most of these leagues are inspired by the IPL and have IPL team owners-such as Reliance, GMR, and Sun TV Network-owning teams.
"The IPL is the number one 'Make in India' property post-Independence," Dhumal said.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which owns the IPL, sold the league's media rights for ₹48,390 crore for 2023-27 period.
The proposed expansion of IPL to an 84-match format will depend on the availability of a suitable window in the international calendar, Dhumal said. For IPL 2025, the tournament has retained the 74-match format to manage player workload and accommodate a packed FTP schedule.
"There is no point in adding new teams to the IPL when we are not yet able to optimise the existing structure with 10 teams," he said.
According to Dhumal, IPL's current April-May window is becoming tricky to manage due to shifting weather patterns-the Southwest monsoon arrived almost two weeks early this year. But advancing the event is also challenging as the FTP has been finalised until 2027 and media rights deals have already been signed based on that schedule.
India is the driver of the global cricket economy, with the ICC generating over 70% of its revenue from the Indian market.
The IPL chairman noted that other ICC member boards are struggling to sell media rights for bilateral series and have been requesting the BCCI to play such series to help boost their revenues.
He said IPL viewership continues to remain strong on TV and digital platforms, despite a one-week suspension caused by the India-Pakistan conflict, which disrupted the tournament's momentum.
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