PCB to hold discussions with other cricket boards over IPL's proposed window in ICC's FTP calendar

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to change the landscape of Indian cricket next year. In its new media rights cycle for 2023-27, it has earned a lucrative deal worth ₹397.75 billion. As a result, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has proposed a longer (over two months) official window for the IPL in the International Cricket Council's (ICC's) Future Tour Program (FTP) calendar. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not keen on the same. It is eager to hold discussions with other board members, as it feels that bilateral international cricket could be heavily affected by it.

Earlier, speaking to PTI, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had said, "From the next FTP cycle, IPL will have an official two-and-a-half-month window so that all the top international cricketers can participate. We have had discussions with various boards as well as the ICC." Although PCB is happy with the amount of money coming into cricket, it is seemingly against the idea of a longer IPL window.

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

Notably, the Pakistani players are barred from participating in the IPL due to the diplomatic tensions between the two nations. The same happened only once, during IPL 2008, while since then, the two nations have also not played a proper bilateral cricketing tour. The current ICC FTP will conclude following the ICC World Cup 2023 in India. As for the IPL Media Rights, Star Sports has retained the television rights, while Viacom18 has bagged the digital rights.