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Cricket PlayersIPL may move out of brutal May heat as BCCI rethinks mid-March start and rain threat in expanded future
The BCCI is reviewing the IPL's schedule to address concerns about extreme heat and rain.
The Indian Premier League’s current window could come under serious review, with the BCCI looking at ways to start the tournament earlier and reduce its exposure to extreme heat and late-season rain.
The discussion has gained weight because the IPL is expected to get bigger in the coming years. Any expansion will force the BCCI to find more calendar space without overloading players, broadcasters or the global cricket schedule.
BCCI weighs IPL window rethink
IPL chairman Arun Dhumal told Sportstar. The BCCI secretary, Devajit Saikia, also told HT Digital the same thing that weather has become one of the major concerns around the tournament’s future scheduling, especially with the league currently stretching into May.
“Weather is another challenge that we are facing now, with May getting very hot. We are also looking if we can find a window from February to April and then later in the year,” Dhumal said.
A mid-March start is one of the options being considered. Such a move would allow the IPL to move deeper into the relatively safer part of the Indian summer and reduce the risk of matches being affected by severe heat or rain later in the season.
The IPL currently occupies close to two months in the cricket calendar. The challenge could become sharper if the tournament expands further from the next broadcast cycle. A longer tournament would need either a bigger window, more double-headers or a split structure. None of those options is simple.
Dhumal also indicated that any major scheduling change would need broadcaster consultation. A September-October window has been discussed as a possible option because it falls before Diwali, one of the strongest advertising periods in India.
“I do not think so. We need to sit across and speak to the broadcaster for their opinion on whether the tournament can be moved to another window. One suggestion was a window in September-October. That is the best time from an advertiser point of view because it is just before Diwali,” he said.
The commercial logic is clear, but the cricketing calendar makes the decision more complicated. The IPL includes a large number of overseas players, and any shift would need coordination with other boards and international commitments.
Dhumal said the league’s impact now extends well beyond Indian cricket.
“We have to do what is best for the game because IPL does not impact only the BCCI, it impacts all other cricket boards and players who play across the globe. We will sit across with all our friends from other countries and find what works best for this tournament and cricket globally,” he said.
For now, there is no final decision on changing the IPL window. But the BCCI’s thinking is clear. Heat, rain, expansion and broadcast demands have turned the IPL calendar into one of cricket’s biggest future questions.
