IPL likely to witness lesser day matches

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is contemplating the option of hosting more night matches in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The world’s richest cricket board is working on a plan where each team plays only one day-match in the entire T20 league and fewer double-headers on weekends. It means that the IPL will be a little longer.

A proposed schedule will be put forth before the new IPL governing council with the tournament, having a full 60-day window. The next season is most likely to start on April 1 and continue until May 30. The auction for the next edition will take place on December 19 in Kolkata.

Plan needs approval from the IPL governing council

“There is a plan in place of playing more games at night. If it is passed, each team will have to play only one game in the afternoon. Teams who play in the north face heat waves and conditions get more difficult. There is a plan of using all 60 days instead of wrapping up the IPL in 45 days. The IPL GC has to approve it,” a source was quoted as saying in The New Indian Express.

Back in 2017, Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian batsman, had expressed his preference for matches not finishing too late and his views were also reverberated by Rajiv Shukla, the IPL chairman. One of the games at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore finished at 1:27 AM. Last season, the BCCI changed the timing for the playoffs, albeit the timings didn’t change for the league matches.

In the meantime, sources have informed that the BCCI has come up with various options and a new schedule to get things done on the two-month window. It has been decided upon in consultation with the broadcasters. The concerned franchises will be informed about the plans when the IPL governing council meets the owners in the coming months.

The BCCI is pretty much keen on starting the matches at 7 PM local time and is set to discuss the same with the franchises. Previously, Mumbai Indians (MI), the four-time champions, have expressed disagreement with the early starts. The franchise argued that Mumbai crowds come to watch the matches at the Wankhede Stadium post office hours.

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