Big change in IPL as tournament returns to home-and-away format. Check details

The Indian Premier League is set to return to its original format once again—a development recently confirmed by IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal. According to him, the IPL will revert to its traditional 'Home-Away' format starting from the year 2028. This implies that, from that point on, all teams will play 18 matches instead of the current 14, and the total number of league matches played will increase from 74 to 94. It is worth noting that the Home-Away format was the standard rule right from the inception of the IPL; however, following the inclusion of two new teams—the Gujarat Titans and the Lucknow Super Giants—in 2022, the format was revised. Under this revised structure, teams were divided into two groups and played only one match against each of the other four teams within their own group, while playing two matches each against all five teams belonging to the other group.

"With the given set of teams, only we can go for a larger number of matches," Dhumal was quoted as saying by India Today, reiterating the point he made last year.

Dhumal further stated that while increasing the number of teams would make sense, we are currently considering reviving the IPL's original 'Home-Away' format. Under this system, all teams would be required to play 18 league matches, and a single IPL season would expand to comprise 94 matches. However, this would only be feasible if the BCCI secures a slightly longer window to organise the tournament. The second option involves scheduling more 'double-headers' (two matches in a day); however, broadcasters might object to this arrangement due to concerns regarding split viewership and reduced advertising revenue.

"So it doesn't make sense as of now to increase the number of teams. Because if we have to have an equal number of home and away matches, from 74 we can go up to 94. That would be the ideal situation," he added.

Until 2027, the IPL will continue to be played in its current format, which occupies a window of approximately 60 to 65 days. However, for the new format, the BCCI will seek a window of at least two and a half months within the new cricketing cycle—a move that would, to some extent, necessitate a pause in international cricket to ensure sufficient time for proper organisation.

"Since the bilaterals are locked in till 2027, we would need a bigger window to raise the number of games from 74 to 94. So we are looking for a bigger window post-2027 bilateral cycle. In case we can get that, we will definitely try to have 94 games," Dhumal added.