The next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will commence on 14 March next year, with the final scheduled for 25 May, according to a report by ESPNcricinfo on Friday.
In a first-of-its-kind move, the dates for the next three IPL seasons have been announced. The 2026 season will run from 15 March to 31 May, while the 2027 edition will take place between 14 March and 30 May.
An email sent to franchises on Thursday, accessed by ESPNcricinfo, referred to these as tournament “windows,” but they are expected to align closely with the actual schedules. The 2025 season will feature 74 matches, maintaining the same format as the past three editions.
However, this is 10 matches fewer than the 84 listed by IPL in 2022 when media rights were sold for the 2023-27 cycle. The tender document outlined varying match numbers: 74 games for 2023 and 2024, 84 for 2025 and 2026, and up to 94 in 2027.
In a significant development, overseas players from all major Test-playing nations, except Pakistan, will be available for the next three seasons. Pakistani players have not participated in the IPL since 2008 due to political tensions between the two countries.
Country-wise availability of overseas players for the next three IPL seasons:
– Australia: Cricket Australia (CA) has granted permission for its top international and domestic players to participate. In 2026, Australian players will join the IPL after completing a three-match ODI series against Pakistan, concluding by 18 March. Similarly, in 2027, players involved in a one-off Test against England in March to commemorate 150 years of Test cricket will join after the match.
– England: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has submitted a list of 18 centrally contracted players available for the next three seasons, excluding all-rounder Ben Stokes, who did not register for this year’s auction.
The list includes: Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Olly Stone, and Reece Topley. Some players are expected to be “out of contract” during the 2025-27 period but will remain available while under contract. Uncontracted players will be fully available for the IPL.
– South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe: Players from these nations will be fully available for the next three seasons.
– Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed its players’ full availability for the 2025 season. Retained players will also be available for 2026 and 2027.
– Bangladesh: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) provided a list of 13 players available for varying periods over the three seasons, including Taskin Ahmed, Litton Kumar Das, Mahedi Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, and Mustafizur Rahman, among others.