The Indian Premier League’s proposed two-and-a-half-month extended window will be challenged, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The matter will be brought up at the following ICC conference, according to PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja.
After selling the media rights for INR 48,390 crore for the 2023–27 cycle earlier this month, the Indian Premier League (IPL) rose to the position of second-most valuable sports league in the world. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah then announced that the IPL will have a separate two-and-a-half-month window starting in the ICC’s Future Tours Programme the following year (FTP).
PCB chairman Ramiz Raja on the proposed IPL window
“There has been no announcement or decision as yet on the IPL window being increased. I will give my views on this issue at the ICC conference. My point is clear: if there is any development in world cricket that means we are being short-changed, we will challenge it in a very forceful manner and put our point across strongly in the ICC,” Ramiz Raja said.
Due to their national obligations, some well-known international players have missed a few IPL seasons. Pakistan will be the most negatively impacted if the ICC allows for a separate window for the IPL. Notably, due to political tensions with India, Pakistani cricketers and coaches are prohibited from competing in the IPL. Due to IPL 2022, Pakistan did not participate in any international cricket from April 6 to June 7 of this year. If IPL is granted an extended window by the ICC, the situation will only worsen.
“I have spoken to Saurav (Ganguly) on the sidelines on this and I told him that presently there are three former cricketers heading their cricket boards and if they can’t make a difference who will? Twice Ganguly has invited me to attend the IPL finals last year and this year and cricketing wise it made sense to go, but then, because of the situation, we had to look at the fallout of accepting the invitations,” Raja added.
