'A longer season is overdue' - Ness Wadia wants IPL in two halves with 14 home games

Punjab Kings co-owner Ness Wadia reckons that the Indian Premier League (IPL) season should be divided into two halves and has demanded more home games. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently sold the IPL media rights for INR 48,390 crore during the first-ever e-auction with four different bundles. After this successful auction, BCCI secretary Jay Shah talked about having a separate two-and-a-half-month window for the tournament from the next ICC FTP calendar.

There were two new teams added in the recently-concluded IPL 2022 season, which saw an increase in the number of matches. But because of the Covid-19 pandemic, all the matches were played at a neutral venue in a bio-bubble. The IPL committee also introduced a new group stage format to restrict the number of matches to 74, from the possible 90-plus fixtures.

IPL has taken cricket to the global level: Ness Wadia

Fans can witness more matches over the next few years with every team playing against each other twice in a double round-robin format. Wadia also feels that IPL has taken cricket to a global level and predicts that it will get bigger in the future.

“More home games and a bigger season. IPL has taken cricket to the global level. The IPL has provided the spark cricket needed and made it a global sport. It will get even bigger. Having said that, seven matches at home is way too less. It should be a minimum of 14. I really see a much longer season which is long overdue,” Ness Wadia was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.

IPL 2022 witnessed a decline in viewership in the latter stages of the tournament possibly due to viewer fatigue. When asked about this, Wadia recommended two halves season from the next season, one in India and another in another country.

“If you can’t have a long season of four months why not look at two seasons, one in India and one in a different country every year. Indians are everywhere around the world. There is huge potential for having many more games. That is where the creativity comes and we can see how leagues are run around the world. We are long away from fatigue at the moment. We will cross the bridge when we get there,” he said.