Ramiz Raja ICC

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The Indian Premier League (IPL) is becoming massive from big with every passing season. The fierce bidding to acquire the media rights for the Indian T20 league was a testimony of this fact. With the media rights for IPL 2023-27 cycle sold for a whopping Rs 48,390.50 Crore, IPL is now just behind NFL in valuation per game.

It’s not just the money but the window IPL is getting in ICC FTP is also getting bigger. As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah revealed a couple of days ago, the IPL will have a two-and-a-half-month window from next year. With the number of games increased, it’s quite understandable that the Indian T20 League will be needing a bigger window for a smooth conduct.

However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) thinks that this can have a catastrophic effect on the international calendar and therefore, they will be taking this matter up with other cricket boards in the coming days. According to a report in PTI, the PCB will be discussing this two-and-a-half-month window for IPL at the ICC board meeting.

"The ICC board meeting will be held during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in July and this matter will probably be discussed there," a PCB source said. "Mr Jay Shah has said the BCCI is committed to international bilateral cricket but with so many leagues cropping up and the IPL planning expansion this has to be discussed among the cricket boards," the PCB official added.

Notably, Pakistani players have not been included in the IPL auctions after first edition since Mumbai terror attack in 2008. Also, the BCCI does not play any bilateral series with Pakistan due to the tense cross-border relationship. Unlike PCB, many cricket experts have reckoned that the enormous money channelised into the IPL in the latest media rights will eventually change the face of international cricket.