Arun Dhumal.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Ahead of the first Qualifier here, Arun Dhumal, the IPL chairman, spoke to The Hindu about the way ahead for the league.
On expanding the IPL to 94 games
Ideally, in a 10-team format, you should have nine home and nine away games. Logistical challenges and the commitment given to bilateral series are the reasons we haven’t made it nine each. In case a bigger window allows us to have two more weeks added, we will look at increasing the number of games.
On the reported drop in viewership this year
I do not know where that report came from. According to the latest report that came from the broadcaster, the audience has grown vis-a-vis the previous year in terms of total consumption. The regional channels have worked very well in improving our reach.
On finding another window
We need to speak to the broadcaster on whether the tournament can be moved to another window. One suggestion was a window in September-October. That is the best time from an advertiser point of view because it is just before Diwali. Weather is another challenge that we are facing now with May getting very hot. We are looking if we can find a window from February to April and then later in the year.
Published – May 26, 2026 09:19 pm IST
