Star demands change in Indian T20 League schedule, the reason is worth a change

Over the years, weekends during the Indian T20 League have always been exciting. One of the major reasons for that is the double headers on Saturday and Sunday. They add more excitement to the already frenzy-driven league.

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Thus, Star seems to be adamant about having a double header towards the start of the fifteenth edition of the league. According to a report by Cricbuzz, the BCCI and Disney Hotstar  have contrasting views with respect to the start of the 2022 edition. Although the board has planned to start the tournament on March 27, the broadcaster's demands are different.

Star has been insisting to start the 2022 edition on March 26, which is a Saturday. Their main aim is to have a double header on March 27, which happens to be a Sunday. It is to be noted that a Monday cannot have two games on the same day, unless there's a national holiday.

"We understand that a Saturday start helps the broadcaster to kick-start the league with a bang with three matches in the first weekend. A Sunday inauguration would not permit that. The BCCI and the broadcasters were in discussion over this and eventually it could be on March 26," said a franchise official.

The board has promised to get back to all the teams regarding the final schedule of this edition, as well as the finalized venues. In the meanwhile, Star has reportedly asked the commentators to be ready from March 19 to June 7. In a mail, they enquired about the availability.

"At the onset, wanted to check with you on your availability for IPL 2022 on the world feed broadcast. So request you to please provide your availability not only for the tournament but probably say minus 8-10 days from the start date and plus five days from the end date to be safe, so effectively from 19th March 2022 to say June 7, 2022," read the mail.