"Why not look at two seasons, one in India and one in a different country" - PBKS co-owner Ness Wadia explores the possibility of IPL's expansion

PBKS co-owner Ness Wadia is all-in for the expansion of the IPL

Punjab Kings (PBKS) co-owner Ness Wadia believes the current format of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is too short, especially with regard to the number of home games. The 51-year-old wants the season to be conducted across two halves, one in India and the second half abroad.

While there has been an increase in the number of franchises from eight to ten in the 2022 edition, franchises were resorted to playing the same number of matches. Two groups were introduced as the teams played 14 matches each during the league phase.

Over the course of the competition's history, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have conducted the proceedings under special circumstances.

Claiming that seven matches at home are way too few for a tournament like IPL's stature, Wadia told PTI:

"IPL has taken cricket to the global level. The IPL has provided the spark cricket needed and made it a global sport. It will get even bigger. Having said that, seven matches at home, it is way too less. It should be a minimum of 14. I really see a much longer season which is long overdue."

The IPL is on a completely different level 🤯🇮🇳

#IPL #IPLMediaRights #CricketTwitter https://t.co/vJHmlvX5Tq

Citing the large number of overseas fans associated with the competition, Wadia suggested the competition be held in two phases. The PBKS co-owner added:

"If you can't have a long season of four months why not look at two seasons, one in India and one in a different country every year. Indians are everywhere around the world. There is huge potential for having many more games."

The expansion of the league comes on the back of its resounding success in the recently concluded media rights auction. Separating the broadcast rights into four separate bundles, the amount totaled up to be a staggering sum of ₹48,390 crores.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah has already confirmed IPL's two-and-a-half-month presence in the calendar year from the next FTP cycle.

"The IPL has revived, grown and globalised cricket" - Ness Wadia

The cash-rich league, despite its mere 15-year presence, has already eclipsed the likes of the English Premier League (EPL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA).

BCCI opens media rights tender for IPL 2023-27. Tender valued at whopping ₹46,000 crores

2nd most valued sports league in the world

1️⃣ NFL 🇺🇸 - $17 million per match
2️⃣ IPL 🇮🇳 - $13.5 million per match
3️⃣ EPL 🇬🇧 - $10.5 million per match
4️⃣ MLB 🇺🇸 - $9.5 million per match

Asserting the need for a larger window for the IPL in the coming years, Wadia said:

"It is a logical reason. How much are seven matches at home? Too few in my opinion. There has to be a bigger window. In per match value, the IPL is bigger than EPL now and look at the number of games each team plays there (38)."

He concluded:

"There is no doubt that will eventually happen.The IPL has revived, grown and globalised cricket. And believe me it is the tip of the iceberg."

Former India coach Ravi Shastri also hinted that the sport should move towards a franchise-based model rather than conducting consistent bilateral series among nations.