Confirming that IPL will be an 84- or even 94-match competition in the near future, Shah said in an interview to PTI, “It is an aspect that we have worked on. Let me tell you that from the next ICC FTP calendar, IPL will have an official window of two and a half months so that all the top international cricketers can participate. We have discussed with various boards as well as the ICC.”
The current ICC FTP, which runs from 2018 to 2023, ends with the men’s 50-over World Cup, which will be played in India in October-November 2023. It was earlier scheduled to be played in the first half of the year but had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic pushing back several bilateral series and tournaments.
As reported by ESPNcricinfo during IPL 2022, various options are on the table for the BCCI when it comes to extending the length – and therefore the value – of the IPL, including holding it in two phases every year. .
“We are in discussions with various stakeholders,” Shah said. “There are also several proposals for all IPL franchises to play friendly matches overseas. The idea is being seriously considered, but for that we need to talk to other boards as well because we need to know the schedule of international players ”
“In future, you will have a scenario where the Indian Test team will be playing a series in one country and the white-ball team will be playing a series in a different country”, said Jay Shah.
The biggest worry is that if the IPL takes more days every year, how will the international calendar, which is already full, be affected. Shah stressed that the BCCI is committed to international cricket.
“Indian cricket will be strong as long as world cricket is strong – I assure you of that,” he said. “BCCI is committed to international cricket. And it’s not just about India vs Australia or India vs England marquee series, we are committed to playing smaller countries as well.
“All bilateral international commitments across all formats will be respected. We are playing Ireland in only two T20 Internationals this month. We want a pretty strong international circuit and want to help smaller cricketing nations by playing against them.”
Potentially, this could mean a tremendous workload for India’s premier cricketers, especially those who play across all formats. According to Shah, the BCCI is trying to find a solution to the problem, but it could mean that more than one Indian team is involved in bilateral exchanges at the same time in different parts of the world.
“I have had discussions with the head of the NCA [National Cricket Academy] VVS Laxman and we will always have 50 players in our roster,” Shah said. “In future, you will have a scenario where the Indian Test team will be playing a series in one country and the white-ball team will be playing a series in a different country.
“We are going in the direction where we will have two national teams ready at the same time.”