"Whatever they will say will happen" - Shahid Afridi complains over IPL getting a longer window in upcoming seasons

The Indian Premier League has set new standards for itself when it collected a whopping amount of INR 48,390 crore for the media rights auction after an exciting three-day e-auction. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has broken all the past records in the game of cricket.

And now the IPL has become the world's second biggest league in terms of value, only after the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. As per the stats, the value of one IPL match is estimated at around Rs 107 crore, which is itself a big number. 

However, just after the E-auction concluded, the BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, came up with a bold statement, saying that they are looking to widen the window for the IPL in the coming future. Notably, many ex-Indian cricketers have come out in support of this. But a few players from Pakistan looked baffled after this statement.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Jay Shah said that the IPL has some of the greatest cricketers in the world as players and as coaches both. He added, "It is a fantastic platform and benefits everyone as the experience one gets here is priceless. There will be an increase in the number of games as we go ahead." 

Prior to the 2022 edition, the IPL had only eight teams that played in the tournament. But this season saw two more teams join the former eight. Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants made their debut, and in fact, Gujarat ended up winning the season. With the addition of two more teams, a total of 74 games were played over 65 days.

Former Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi also reacted to this matter. On a cricket talk show called "Game Set Match" on SAMAA TV, Afridi said that the increase in the duration of the IPL could potentially affect Pakistan's cricket to some extent, given the fact that players from Pakistan are not allowed in the IPL.

He said, "It all comes down to the market and the economy. The biggest [cricket] market is India. Whatever they say will happen." Speaking of the media rights, Star Networks won the TV rights for INR 23,575 crore, while Viacom18 won the digital rights for INR 23,758 crore.