Ness Wadia backs January start for IPL

Ness Wadia has joined the growing list of supporters advocating a January start for the IPL. While speaking to Cricbuzz on the Hardik Pandya-Arshdeep Singh trade, the Punjab Kings co-owner also weighed in on the subject of an early window for the league, an idea that Kolkata Knight Riders co-owner Juhi Chawla had also endorsed. The proposal, of course, was first mooted by former IPL chairman Lalit Modi.

“We would love to,” Wadia told Cricbuzz. “I think the first thing we have to do is have more matches (94 games). If that means shifting the window, even better, because, you know, with the weather today, there is rain and then it gets very hot. It would be ideal to have it in January.”

He went on to add that the domestic and international schedules should be factored in but, in principle, he supported the proposal. “I think we have to look at the domestic calendars of India and other countries, as well as the international calendar, and then assess it from that perspective. But yes, I think conceptually, it's a good idea.”

Juhi Chawla openly backed the concept. “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,” she wrote on X.

The idea was first flagged by Modi, who has been seeking a January window through his social media posts. In a recent interview with Cricbuzz, he reiterated the point.

“My broader position is that we should identify the best window from October to the end of April. January is a concrete starting proposal within that range. I am not asking for seven uninterrupted months of exclusive IPL cricket. We need to sit down with the actual fixtures, venues, travel requirements and player commitments and design the season properly,” Modi said.