IPL to disrupt international cricket massively in next ICC FTP calendar

International cricket will be stopped for more than couple of months as BCCI secretary Jay Shah has said that the Indian Premier League (IPL) will have a two-and-a-half-month window in the International Cricket Council (ICC) ‘s next FTP cycle. 

The decision was made just a couple of hours after the marquee cricket tournament’s media rights were sold at a phenomenal price.

On Tuesday, U.S. media behemoth Walt Disney and Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries were the major winners in a high-stakes bid to broadcast the IPL, the world’s richest cricket league, for the next five years in deals fetching the organisers $6.2 billion.

During an exclusive interview with NDTV, Jay Shah was asked about BCCI’s plans to manage the window with the number of IPL matches reportedly increasing to 94. In reply, the BCCI secretary said that a discussion regarding the same has already taken place with various boards, including the governing body of world cricket ICC.

“That is an aspect we have worked upon. Let me inform you that from the next ICC FTP calendar, IPL will have an official two-and-a-half-month window so that all the top international cricketers can participate. We have had discussions with various boards as well as the ICC”, he said.

IPL 2022, which concluded on May 29 this year, witnessed participation from two additional teams- the title-holders Gujarat Titans and the Lucknow Super Giants. As a result, the number of matches was increased from 60 to 74 (70 league + four knockouts), thereby stretching the duration of the tournament to well over two months.