The timing of the Indian Premier League (IPL) could be due for a rethink, following calls from Juhi Chawla and Lalit Modi to reconsider its traditional calendar. The IPL's founder and the Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner have argued for moving the competition away from April and May, a period marked by intense summer heat.
Lalit Modi reignited the discussion with a post on social media, where he maintained that the IPL had grown into a global sporting brand with enough influence to establish its own calendar without requiring an exclusive window from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Juhi Chawla lent her support to the proposal, raising concerns over the decision to stage the world's biggest cricket league during the peak of summer.
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“The IPL no longer needs to find its place in the cricket calendar. It has earned the right to influence it. So why keep playing the biggest cricket tournament on the planet in the harshest heat? And if the calendar is being reconsidered, why not January instead of April-May?”
“Better conditions. Better cricket. A better experience for everyone overall! The IPL has evolved. Perhaps its calendar should too now!” Chawla posted.
The IPL no longer needs to find its place in the cricket calendar. It has earned the right to influence it. So why keep playing the biggest cricket tournament on the planet in the harshest heat? And if the calendar is being reconsidered, why not January instead of April-May? Better conditions. Better cricket. A better experience for everyone overall! The IPL has evolved. Perhaps its calendar should too now! #JustAThought
— Juhi Chawla Mehta (@iam_juhi) November 9, 2026
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Lalit Modi quickly acknowledged and welcomed her stance, amplifying the discourse across digital platforms.
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— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) November 9, 2026
Chawla's tweet came in response to Lalit Modi's earlier post suggesting either a January start or a structured October-to-April window for the IPL.
“The IPL is no longer a tournament trying to find its place in world cricket. World cricket must recognise the place the IPL has already earned…The IPL was never built to follow the market. It was built to change the market,” he wrote.
THE IPL DOES NOT NEED A WINDOW. IT CREATES ITS OWN. By Lalit Modi | Founder, Indian Premier League There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding about the IPL and the international cricket calendar. A lot of cricket journalists and Cricket Administrators have reached out to me either scared or giving me Gyan on value chain. I thought it best I tell my views bluntly The IPL does not need the ICC to give it a window. The IPL is a domestic tournament owned and operated by the BCCI. The BCCI can decide when to stage it. Of course, international commitments and player releases must be managed, but that is entirely different from seeking permission to exist in a particular part of the calendar. And here is the bigger point. The IPL is no longer a tournament trying to find its place in world cricket. World cricket must recognise the place the IPL has already earned. I know this better than most. I created the IPL when many believed it would never work. In 2008, India's movie, television and entertainment industries initially thought they could compete with it. They learnt very quickly what happens when the IPL captures the attention of a nation. Film releases were postponed, prime-time television was disrupted and entertainment schedules were rewritten. The IPL didn't ask Bollywood for a window. Bollywood adjusted to the IPL. Now imagine the IPL choosing its own optimal calendar. Others may try to counter-programme it. They are free to do so. But commercial reality is a very unforgiving umpire. The world's leading cricketers understand where the financial opportunities are. For many international players, an IPL contract can represent a substantial proportion of their annual cricket earnings. That economic gravity is not going away. The IPL has become to cricket what the English Premier League is to football: a global sporting and commercial powerhouse with the ability to shape the wider ecosystem. And like the EPL, its strength comes from the product, the clubs, the supporters, the talent and the commercial model—not from asking competing competitions to clear the calendar. Why I don't support reviving the Champions League T20 I was involved in creating the original Champions League concept. It made commercial sense in its time. But the world has changed. Today, IPL franchise ownership groups have expanded across several international T20 leagues. The prospect of teams under common ownership competing against each other creates obvious governance and conflict-of-interest questions. More importantly, why create another tournament competing for the same players, broadcasters, sponsors and increasingly stretched cricket calendar? We don't need another competition. We need to strengthen the competition that already works. My proposal is to seriously examine moving the IPL from the increasingly punishing April–May heat, with two alternatives: a January start or a carefully structured October–April competition calendar. The objective should be a commercially sustainable expansion, better playing conditions, more valuable broadcasting inventory and a stronger long-term economic foundation for Indian cricket. The BCCI has the asset. It has the audience. It has the commercial strength. It needs the confidence to use them. The ICC and other cricket boards should recognise the economic reality and work constructively around it. The IPL cannot be expected to subsidise an outdated global calendar indefinitely. The writing has been on the wall. Unfortunately, some people only read it when it appears on a balance sheet. You cannot run tomorrow's cricket on yesterday's economics. And remember one thing: The IPL was never built to follow the market. It was built to change the market. Lalit Modi Founder, Indian Premier League @IPL #cricket #bcci
— Lalit Kumar Modi (@LalitKModi) November 9, 2026
Pointing to the IPL's enormous commercial reach, Lalit Modi called for a fresh look at the tournament's traditional dates to avoid the extreme summer heat. He floated two alternatives: starting the competition in January or adopting a longer October-to-April schedule.
“My proposal is to seriously examine moving the IPL from the increasingly punishing April–May heat, with two alternatives: a January start or a carefully structured October–April competition calendar, Lalit Modi wrote.
“The objective should be a commercially sustainable expansion, better playing conditions, more valuable broadcasting inventory and a stronger long-term economic foundation for Indian cricket,” he added.
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