IPL Set For 94-Match Expansion From 2028 As BCCI Plans Full Home-and-Away Format

The Indian Premier League is being lined up for a major schedule expansion, with the BCCI preparing a plan to stage 94 matches each season from 2028. Officials want to replace the current virtual group model with a clear home-and-away league, while IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal has confirmed the tournament will still feature 10 franchises.

The push towards a longer Indian Premier League campaign follows audience research that highlights “mid-league fatigue” in the existing structure. With 10 teams split into two virtual groups until 2026, viewership often drops by about 15-20% in the central phase, as some fans find the points system and fixtures harder to follow.

What Is The Proposed New IPL Format?

The BCCI wants every Indian Premier League side to face each opponent twice, once at home and once away, restoring the pure league format used when the competition had eight teams. That approach changed when two more franchises joined, as administrators tried to avoid stretching the calendar beyond the available IPL window.

The proposed 94-game structure is therefore meant to bring back a simpler “football-style” table, with one combined standings list. Broadcasters see value when every fixture carries equal weight and is easy to place within the race for playoff spots. This cleaner narrative is expected to help sustain fan interest throughout the season.

Officials are also keen to keep the Indian Premier League restricted to 10 teams despite the extra fixtures. Expanding to 12 franchises would require an even longer block in the global calendar and could thin out the domestic talent pool that already supports 10 squads. Dhumal has repeatedly underlined the importance of protecting on-field standards.

Calendar window and scheduling hurdles for IPL 94 matches

The main obstacle to launching the 94-match Indian Premier League before 2028 sits outside the BCCI’s control. The ICC Future Tours Programme locks bilateral series until 2027, leaving only a 60-to-65-day window for each IPL edition. That span is too short for 94 games without regular double-headers, which broadcasters usually dislike.

Executives argue that back-to-back Indian Premier League fixtures split audiences across two time slots and reduce advertising returns. As a result, the BCCI intends to request a dedicated two-and-a-half-month window in the next ICC cycle, during which international cricket would pause while the IPL is played without schedule congestion.

Arun Dhumal has stressed that the current set of Indian Premier League franchises already allows for a larger calendar. "With the given set of teams, only we can go for a larger number of matches," Dhumal was quoted by India Today as saying. "So it doesn't make sense as of now to increase the number of teams. Because if we have to have an equal number of home and away matches, from 74 we can go up to 94. That would be the ideal situation."

Dhumal has also spelled out the dependence on the next ICC cycle for implementing the Indian Premier League expansion. "Since the bilaterals are locked in till 2027, we would need a bigger window to raise the number of games from 74 to 94," Dhumal explained. "So we are looking for a bigger window post-2027 bilateral cycle. In case we can get that, we will definitely try to have 94 games."

The final shape of the 94-match IPL, planned from 2028, therefore hinges on calendar negotiations rather than franchise changes. If the BCCI secures a longer global window, fans could see a full home-and-away league with 10 teams, a simpler table, and fewer double-headers, all within a clearly defined season block.