BCCI won't mediate player availability for IPL, plans auction purse increase and early March start post-2027

Dharamsala: The BCCI has no plans to act as a bridge between overseas players and their respective teams over their availability for the IPL despite concerns being raised by franchises in the recently concluded edition.

The BCCI has a ban in place for foreign recruits who pull out of the tournament after being bought in the auction, but player availability over the two-month long IPL still remains an issue.

The likes of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc were not available for the first half of the tournament due to niggles. Delhi Capitals were adversely impacted by Starc's absence in the first half.

After their play-offs campaign, Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara had expressed his frustration over Sam Curran playing the T20 back home in the UK after ruling himself out of the IPL due to an injury. Punjab Kings co-owner Mohit Burman has said that BCCI and other boards need to align better on availability of foreign recruits.

However, the BCCI feels the contentious issue needs to be sorted between the player and his franchise.

"The team are the custodians of the players. We leave it to them and their understanding with the players. Some players decide IPL over national duty and some vice versa. Our rules are clear unless there is an injury (the two-year ban)," a BCCI source told PTI referring to the case involving Jofra Archer.

Archer plays for the Royals and he made himself available for the entire tournament despite the ECB wanting to manage his workload. "As far as Curran is concerned, the franchise would know what to do for next season," the source said.

No need for massive hike in auction purse

The current auction purse stands at Rs 125 crore but the players' contracts still can't compare to the ones in European football or NFL. The BCCI tends to gradually increase the purse rather than introducing a big jump.

"Definitely we can explore an increase but we need to see holistically. A lot of players draw a whopping amount for one season and nowhere to be seen the next season. Also a lot of the players are paid over and above their contract by some franchises. The players get match fees also (Rs 7. 5 lakh per game) and get additional sponsorship during the tournament," said the source.

Post 2027, starting IPL in early March best option

The BCCI plans to increase the number of games from 74 to 94 from the 2028 season onwards and that would require a bigger window. As per BCCI sources, the best window is from the first week of March till mid of May. The 2026 edition began at the end of March and the final was played on May 31.

"We can't play 94 games in the current window as the monsoon starts after May. Either we split into two halves or we do it from March first week and have it till May 15. That would be the best window when 94 matches are played.

"We also need to see the feasibility of bilateral series going forward. Every country has their own league, they are not entirely dependent on hosting the India series. So, we need to see the feasibility of bilaterals going forward. The broadcaster is already not seeing value in some of the bilateral series being played. If cricket has to go the soccer way, all boards need to buy into it.

"The viewer fatigue has to be kept in mind too. The world looks forward to the football World Cup as it comes after every four years. We are having ICC events every year," the source added.