BCCI mulls IPL 2024 2nd half overseas as due to LS Elections & T20 WC

There could be a major change in IPL 2024 Schedule. With T20 World Cup 2024 slated to start on June 4, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has a limited window to conduct Indian Premier League. But what complicates matters is Lok Sabha Elections. Hence, the IPL 2024 is likely to start on March 22 and end on May 19. However, as India General Elections will begin in May in various phases, it is likely that BCCI will have to move the matches outside India.

The last edition of IPL started on March 31 with the final on May 29. But with two important events, BCCI will not only fail to extend the window but may be forced to shrink it by 2-3 days. IPL 2023 had a 58-day window. But considering ICC mandates a break of at least two weeks, BCCI will have to conclude the final on May 19 as it is a Sunday.

“Yes, we are aware of the complexities involved in the next IPL. We have the England series and then General Elections as well as World Cup in June. But it’s too early to even plan anything. We are all focused on successfully conducting the World Cup in October. Any decision will be made only in December-January,” a BCCI official told InsideSport.

IPL 2024 Sandwiched between 3 events

ICC has freed up the March-May window for IPL. Hence, BCCI can’t reschedule the IPL for another window. Hence, After India vs England Test series ends on March 11, the players will move to IPL. Before the T20 World Cup, India will also play Sri Lanka. Hence, there will be hardly any time.

India vs England Test series: January 25 to March 11
Window for IPL 2024
Lok Sabha Elections: May-June
T20 World Cup 2024: June 4-30

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Furthermore, Lok Sabha Elections in May-June will further put fixture constraints on BCCI. In 2019, BCCI navigated past the General Election dates successfully, keeping the entire tournament in India. But with security and police protection for matches being an issue, BCCI had to shift IPL 2014 partially out of India and IPL 2009 out of India. The Indian board could face a similar situation this time around.

“It’s not the first time that IPL and election dates will clash. We had IPL in 2014 in India entirely. So, I don’t see any reason why it has to be moved out. But if it does, we will cross the bridge when it’s time. It’s too early. We will try to keep the tournament in India and have a window for players to rest before T20 WC,” the official added.

Potential venues

If BCCI is unable to keep the entire tournament in India, UAE could be one of the potential venues for some matches. Similarly, the other big decision could be moving the playoffs stage or second half to West Indies-USA. As US & West Indies will co-host T20 World Cup 2024, it can provide all players with a good opportunity to acclimatize to the conditions and time zone differences.

However, the second option seems very unlikely midway through the tournament. It will not only increase operational costs for all franchises and the BCCI but will also make it difficult for the broadcasters due to the time zone differences.

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