In an unprecedented move, the IPL has released the dates for the next three seasons. IPL 2025 will start on March 14 with the final on May 25. The 2026 season will be played between March 15 and May 31, while the 2027 season will be between March 14 and May 30. The IPL termed the tournament dates as windows, but it is likely these might end up being the final dates. The 2025 season will comprise 74 matches, the same as the last three seasons. That number, though, is ten less than the 84 matches listed by IPL in 2022 when the media rights for the 2023-27 cycle were sold.

In the tender document for the new rights cycle, the IPL had listed a varying number of matches per season: ranging from 74 games each in 2023 and 2024, 84 matches each in 2025 and 2026, and a maximum of 94 games for the final year of the deal in 2027. In a major boost to franchises, overseas players from most Full Member countries have got a nod from their individual boards to play for the next three years in the IPL. This does not include Pakistan, whose players have not featured in IPL since the inaugural season in 2008 due to the political stalemate between the governments of both countries.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan