The May 31 IPL final was moved from Bengaluru to Ahmedabad due to a mix of seating capacity considerations and an ICC board meeting scheduled around the same time, IPL league chair Arun Singh Dhumal said on Thursday. He pointed out that the usual arrangement is for the team that wins the IPL to host the final in the following season, but the BCCI shifted the venue on Wednesday by awarding the showpiece to Ahmedabad, which also staged the title match last year.
Dhumal noted that Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru—scene of the deadly stampede during RCB’s celebrations last year—holds around 40,000 spectators. By contrast, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad has the capacity to accommodate more than 130,000 fans, making it better suited for an event that draws large crowds from across the world.
He also said the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has voiced disappointment that it will not be hosting the final. Speaking on the decision, Dhumal explained that the BCCI initially explored Bengaluru but ran into practical constraints tied to last year’s incident and related arrangements.
Dhumal said, “Ideally it should have been Bengaluru. We spoke with KSCA. Because of what happened last year (stampede), they had some challenges. The state government needs to provide free tickets for legislators, and KSCA has additional commitments for their members.”
He further argued that stadium capacity and ticket availability also played a part. “The stadium capacity is not that high. Even for league games, only a limited number of tickets were available there. Since the IPL final draws people from around the world, we need a larger inventory of tickets for supporters. We will also have the ICC board meeting around that period, and a lot of members are expected to attend,” Dhumal said.
Summarising the reasoning, Dhumal added that the BCCI wanted to balance fan convenience with the needs of international visitors coming for the ICC board meeting. “Taking everything into account, we felt a bigger venue was the right call. Keeping the convenience of fans as well as international guests in mind for the ICC board meeting, we decided on Ahmedabad,” he said.
When asked about Ahmedabad routinely hosting the final and drawing criticism, Dhumal responded that the winning team should ideally get the match. “No, ideally the winning team hosts the final, but given the issues we discussed, it becomes difficult to stage it in Bengaluru. Let’s say if CSK won last season, we would surely do it in Chennai,” he said.
Recent acquisitions of RR and RCB show strength of IPL
Dhumal also referenced the recent franchise ownership developments involving Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He said both teams recently secured winning bids of close to USD 2 billion from new investors, while stressing that any sale of teams remains subject to BCCI approval.
On the value of the league, Dhumal said the IPL brand has delivered strong returns for stakeholders over an 18-year run. “Definitely, it shows the strength of this league, which is growing with every passing season. It’s just been 18 years, and we’ve seen what it has done for all our partners. We are very happy for each one of them. There is no other league like the IPL,” he remarked.
He added that the IPL has become a leading domestic brand in the “Make in India” space following Independence. “And that is why the IPL is the No. 1 ‘Make in India’ brand post Independence,” Dhumal said.
He also indicated that due diligence will be carried out as part of the approval process. “Definitely, we’ll go through the documents and do all the due diligence required to make sure that the process followed is fair and transparent,” he said.
Increase in number of games likely post-2027; more teams not needed
Dhumal addressed the schedule outlook for future seasons, explaining that the number of matches was expected to rise gradually to 94 in the current cycle running up to 2027. However, he said the international calendar has limited the ability to expand the IPL’s match count during that period.
He stated that the BCCI will push for more games in the next media rights cycle, while keeping the existing set of 10 teams. “With the given set of teams, only then can we go for a higher number of matches. So it doesn’t make sense as of now to increase the number of teams,” Dhumal said.
Dhumal also clarified how the match increase would work if the league aims to maintain equal home and away fixtures. “Because if we have to have an equal number of home and away matches, from 74 we can go up to 94,” he said.
According to him, the timing of international bilateral series is the key constraint. “That would be the ideal situation. But since the bilaterals are locked in till 2027, we would need a bigger window to raise the number of games from 74 to 94. So we are looking for a bigger window post-2027 bilateral cycle. If we can get that, definitely we will try to have 94 games,” he added.
