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Devajit Saikia, Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said on Thursday that the board is considering starting the Indian Premier League (IPL) as early as March 10 and concluding the season by May 15 from the next season to minimise disruptions caused by adverse weather conditions.
"From next season, IPL could start as early as March 10 and finish by May 15 to avoid adverse weather conditions," BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia told ANI. The IPL is traditionally held from the latter half of March through to the end of May. Notably, the monsoon season also begins to set in across parts of the country during May, and the apex cricket board appears keen to minimise its impact on IPL fixtures. The 2026 edition of the tournament, featuring 10 teams and 74 matches, commenced on March 28 and concluded on May 31. The 2026 IPL season saw the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) successfully defend their title, defeating Gujarat Titans (GT) in the final to become only the third franchise, after Chennai Super Kings, and Mumbai Indians, to win back-to-back IPL championships. In the final, put to bat first by RCB, GT scored just 155/8 in 20 overs, with Washington Sundar (50* in 37 balls, with five fours) and Nishant Sindhu (20 in 18 balls, with three fours) being the only ones to cross the 20-run mark. Rasikh Dar Salam (3/27), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/29) and Josh Hazlewood (2/37) took wickets regularly. RCB started well with a 62-run stand between Venkatesh Iyer (32 in 16 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Virat Kohli. GT showed some fight, reducing RCB to 132/5 at one point, but Virat (75* in 42 balls, with nine fours and three sixes) guided RCB to a win with two overs left. The win also marked RCB's fourth overall Indian franchise cricket trophy, including two Women's Premier League (WPL) titles. (ANI)
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