As the 2026 Indian Premier League unfolds across its 74-match season, its chairman Arun Dhumal has begun to look past the present calendar toward a larger future for the league. Watching bilateral series lose their pull as nations build leagues of their own, he sees a quiet opening for the IPL to widen its window once the international schedule resets after 2027. Nothing is settled, and the idea rests on conversations yet to come among cricket's boards, but the shift in how the world spends its cricketing summers seems to be carrying the game toward a new arrangement.
IPL Chairman Signals Possible Window Expansion as Bilateral Cricket Interest Wanes After 2027
Nothing has been decided; what exists is a hope and a list of options.
Mark
So what did Dhumal actually say?
Mimi
That interest in some bilateral series is dropping, that countries are building their own T20 leagues in response, and that this could open room to expand the IPL beyond its current 74 matches.
Mark
Why does 2027 matter?
Mimi
The ICC Future Tours Programme is locked until then. Any real change would come when the next cycle is planned.
Mark
What options did he mention?
Mimi
Cutting some bilaterals, or finding a window elsewhere, such as September or October, between the English and Australian seasons.
Luke
Let's be clear about the claim underneath. Declining interest in bilaterals is Dhumal's assessment, and he runs the IPL. The piece offers no viewership or attendance figures to back it.
Mimi
Fair. He is describing a trend, and the article reports it as his view.
Mark
He also said the IPL adds value to world cricket.
Luke
Again, that's his statement, not a finding. Other boards may weigh it differently, especially those that depend on bilateral revenue.
Mark
Is any expansion agreed?
Luke
No. He spoke of hopes and possibilities, and said discussions with all countries are needed. No number of extra matches, no dates, no agreement.
Mimi
So the useful thing to watch is the planning for the post-2027 cycle.
Le Pouls
- Bilateral series are losing their audience as countries launch their own T20 franchise leagues, and that decline is creating pressure on the existing calendar.
- The IPL chairman is openly floating a bigger tournament, with the current 74-match format now seen as a ceiling worth breaking.
- Options on the table include trimming some bilateral series or claiming a September-October gap between the English and Australian seasons.
- The ICC Future Tours Programme locks the calendar until 2027, so any expansion must wait for post-2027 talks with every participating country.
- For now the proposal remains a stated hope with no decision announced, and the outcome will depend on negotiations among cricket's boards.
As the 2026 Indian Premier League unfolds across its 74-match season, its chairman Arun Dhumal has begun to look past the present calendar toward a larger future for the league. Watching bilateral series lose their pull as nations build leagues of their own, he sees a quiet opening for the IPL to widen its window once the international schedule resets after 2027. Nothing is settled, and the idea rests on conversations yet to come among cricket's boards, but the shift in how the world spends its cricketing summers seems to be carrying the game toward a new arrangement.
The Indian Premier League is halfway through its 2026 season, a 74-match tournament running until May 31, and its chairman Arun Dhumal is already imagining something larger. Speaking to the Financial Times, he said interest in bilateral cricket series is fading in many parts of the world, and that the league may have room to grow as that happens.
He pointed to a crowded landscape of franchise competitions: The Hundred in England and Wales, the Big Bash in Australia, the International League T20 in the UAE, the SA20 in South Africa and the Caribbean Premier League. Countries have built these leagues because some international fixtures no longer draw the crowds they once did. If that trend continues, Dhumal believes nations will want fewer bilaterals, or ones that make more financial sense, which would open space for the IPL to stretch its window.
There is a practical limit. The ICC Future Tours Programme already fixes the international calendar through 2027, and Dhumal acknowledged that the current arrangement works. Any serious talk of going beyond 74 matches would wait until planning begins for the next cycle.
He has sketched possible paths: trimming some bilateral series, or using a few days in September or October, between the English and Australian seasons. He argued that the IPL adds value not only to India and its players but to world cricket as a whole, and that players everywhere would benefit from a bigger tournament.
For now, nothing has been decided. What exists is a hope and a set of options, with the outcome resting on discussions among cricket's boards once the current calendar runs out.
The Indian Premier League is in the middle of its 2026 season, a 74-match tournament that runs to May 31, and its chairman is already talking about making it bigger. Arun Dhumal, speaking to the Financial Times, said he sees room to enlarge the league's window in the years ahead, as interest in bilateral cricket series fades in many parts of the world.
The backdrop is a crowded calendar of franchise competitions. Dhumal pointed to the England and Wales Cricket Board's The Hundred, Australia's Big Bash League, the UAE's International League T20, South Africa's SA20 and the Caribbean Premier League. In his telling, countries have launched these leagues of their own because some bilateral games simply draw less interest than they used to.
From that, Dhumal drew a line toward the IPL's future. If the trend holds, he said, every country will want fewer bilaterals, or bilaterals that make more financial sense for them. That, in his view, creates scope to expand the IPL window. He said he hopes for more discussions with all the countries and colleagues involved, and added that if it works out, it should work out for everyone.
There is a timing constraint. The ICC Future Tours Programme, the international calendar that fixes bilateral series, is already locked until 2027. Dhumal acknowledged that the current arrangement makes sense. Talks about going beyond 74 matches would come when planning begins for the period after 2027, the next cycle.
He sketched more than one way to get there. One is trimming some bilateral series. Another is carving out a window somewhere else in the calendar. He specifically mentioned September or October, after the English season ends and before the Australian season starts, saying that if a few days are available then, the IPL could be extended into that gap. He said all those possibilities can be worked out, and the league would do whatever works best.
Dhumal also made an argument about value. The IPL, he said, adds value not only to India and Indian players but to world cricket at large, and so players from everywhere would want more of it. He expressed hope that when the next cycle is decided, a bigger window can be carved out.
The tournament itself is in its 19th edition, and Times Now describes it as the biggest cricketing event of the year. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are among the players featuring this season.
Nothing has been decided. What exists so far is a stated hope and a list of options from the league's chairman, with any change dependent on negotiations among cricket's boards once the current calendar expires after 2027.
Citations marquantes
If this is the trend, then every country will want fewer bilaterals, or bilaterals that make more financial sense for them, and then there is scope to enlarge the IPL window.— Arun Dhumal, IPL chairman, to the Financial Times
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