94 matches in 2028 IPL! Arun Dhumal hints at Indian Premier League's expansion in future but without new franchises

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is considering an expansion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) from his 2028 season, but without adding new franchises to the existing 10 at the moment. The IPL is currently being played in a 74-match format after Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) joined the bandwagon in 2022.

Although there were plans to grow the league to a 84-match format in IPL 2025 but it didn't materialise due to several factors, according to a Espncricinfo report. It also stated that an expansion is always on table.

“Definitely, that might be an opportunity. We've been discussing in ICC, we've been discussing in-house in BCCI. Given how the interest of the fan is changing with regard to bilateral and ICC events, in regard to franchise cricket and T20 cricket, we'll have to talk more seriously about it and see how we can create maximum value for the stakeholders of the game,” IPL chairman Arun Dhumal told the website.

“Ideally, we'd want a larger window, or to maybe go on from 74 to 84 or 94 at some point… So that every team gets to play against every team home and away, for that, you need 94 games,” added Dhumal.

In case of the 94-match league, the IPL will be a full home-and-away affair. At the moment, the IPL window has already been locked for the next two years till 2027 from mid-March to May end.

No immediate plans to increase teams

The IPL started with eight teams in 2008. The number of franchises increased to 10 (2011) and 9 (2012, 2013) but again came back to eight-team format. It went up to 10 teams once again in 2022.

"Ten is a good number for now. Paramount is the interest in the tournament and the quality of cricket that we play… I don't see any scope (of increasing teams) in the short term. Going forward, with how this whole landscape evolves, we'll take a call accordingly," Dhumal said.

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