In what might be the first indication of how the cricket world order is set to change yet again, the Indian Premier League (IPL) – the sport’s hottest property globally – is now expected to remain a bilateral-free window during the months of April and May, post-2019.
The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) two-day meeting in Singapore attended by the chief executives discussed a detailed presentation on the Future Tour Program (FTP) from each member board of the parent body on Dec 7 and 8, where the BCCI presented a revised FTP.
Privy to how the BCCI has gone about structuring its bilateral window, TOI has learned that an effort has been made on part of the Indian board to ensure that all member boards will keep their respective cricketers free of all bilateral commitments, thus obliging the IPL with a thorough participation. Only the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is still to commit to the two-month window, which India believes will come through soon.
England happens to be the only major cricket nation in the northern hemisphere and finds its home season beginning only in the month of June. Between April and May – months during which IPL is played – BCCI is confident the ECB will keep itself free of any overseas commitments.
This new window for the next rights cycle beginning after the 2019 ICC World Cup will now be brought up at the BCCI’s Special General Body (SGM) meeting in New Delhi on Monday.
A bilateral-free IPL could be the first sign of how the international structure of cricket could change in the future, with T20 becoming the primary format to sustain the game’s finances and India asserting themselves in the global cricket industry by way of once again being seen as the sport’s principal revenue generator.
“IPL will be the only global marquee event from 2020,” sources in the know of developments said.
The IPL window, by way of interpretation alone, could become India’s extended home season because there won’t be any effort made to include the multi-million dollar T20 property into the calendar for pre-existing reasons.
