Two and half month window for IPL in ICC’s FTP

Dubai: The IPL is all set to have its dedicated two and half month exclusive window from the next Futures Tours & Programme (FTP) calendar of the ICC starting 2024, with no international cricket scheduled in that phase.

That the T20 extravaganza would be a “two-and-a-half-month” affair from the next FTP was confirmed in an exclusive interview with BCCI secretary Jay Shah on the sidelines of the blockbuster IPL media rights deal last month.

“Let me inform you that from the next ICC FTP calendar, IPL will have an official two-and-a-half month window so that all the top international cricketers can participate. We have had discussions with various boards as well as the ICC,” Shah had said back then and it is now turning into a reality.

As per the draft by the International Cricket Council, the IPL, which now has a window from March last week to May, will now spill over to June with a two-week extension, said a report in ESPNCricinfo. While Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expected to raise its concern as its players are banned from the cash-rich league due to cross-border tension between neighbours, Ramiz Raja is unlikely to get any support from other members.

In fact, it was the BCCI secretary Shah, who had pushed hard for the dedicated window and got most of the member nations on the same page. The IPL pays the maximum wages to foreign players and each overseas sold to franchises ensures a 10 percent fee for the member boards as per agreement. Most top nations don”t keep any engagement during IPL.

Asked about Pakistan’s objection, an ICC Board member, privy to developments laughed. “The problem with Ramiz is that he has to say certain things to his country’s media and he does that which is fair. But the trend of his performance at ICC meetings tells a different story. He never puts in a strong protests. Plus he is a thorough gentleman and he knows that this is happening. The boards want it and the players want it,” the senior official said.