With the curtain falling on the two-month-long Indian Premier League (IPL) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) securing a second successive title, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia heaped praise on 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Saikia also outlined a structured pathway for the teenager’s potential progression to the Indian national team in the coming years.
The BCCI secretary further revealed plans to expand the IPL schedule from 74 to 94 matches starting in 2027. In addition, he addressed player workload management and detailed fresh guidelines introduced by the board, following several off-field and disciplinary incidents that surfaced during the 2026 season.
Devajit Saikia on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Team India selection
According to a Hindustan Times report, Devajit Saikia shared his plan to fast-track the teen talent for the national side, as he believes that Sooryavanshi is India’s future treasure. When he was asked about Vaibhav’s selection, Saikia said, “Vaibhav is a new ‘wonder kid’ in Indian cricket, and I’m sure he will also take the world by storm in the coming days. And all our selectors are part of the IPL tournament. Everybody, all the selectors are watching these matches very closely, and in most cases, they are also present at the venue. So, in the upcoming selection meetings for the Indian team’s UK trip, I’m sure the selectors will do whatever is necessary and is in his best interest, given the way he has performed.
“Many other players performed exceedingly well. But Vaibhav is exceptional, and I am very happy that God is kind, that a new wonder kid has been presented to the Indian cricket scene at this stage, and that he will definitely cross the boundaries very soon,” the BCCI secretary added further on Sooryavanshi. Notably, the 15-year-old has earned a maiden call-up for the India A squad for the tri-series against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, scheduled to start on 9 June.
Number of matches to be extended to 94 in IPL 2027?
The BCCI secretary explained that they are not taking the issue seriously for now, but they will find a way forward to increase the number of matches from 74 to 94 next season in IPL 2027. He said, “We may be exploring ways to bring IPL forward by another 15 days. This year, we started it around March 28. We’ll try to bring IPL a bit ahead of the season, maybe by March 15. We are working on it and finish and close it by May 15 so that the rigours of the warm weather or the rain will not have any impact on the players as well as the crowd and thehe fans, which is very important because to watch a match, especially the matches in the hot sun, it is very difficult and very uncomfortable for the fans also because of the high temperature in some of the venues.”
RCB with the IPL 2026 trophy. (Photo Credit: PTI)
Saikia further added, “So we are working on it, but I cannot say at this moment that we are taking the matter very seriously to increase it from 74 to 94 because there are a lot of other factors involved. We have to look at the various FTPs and the participation of other countries in bilateral and other multinational tournaments where the ICC is the governing body. So there is no immediate talk about increasing it. But let’s see how things progress after 2027. Only time will tell.”
BCCI’s action regarding players’ workload management
The BCCI official explained the procedure of look-afters and the possible ways to monitor the players’ workload management, those who are under Team India’s national contract. He said, “Our technical personnel, who are in charge of the fitness of the players, and who are under contract and who are on the fringe of the Indian team. They are well monitored from outside, but they do not enter into the day-to-day activities. A general regime or general routine is given to them on how they should carry out their fitness programmes. But the thing is, as I have always told you, we cannot micromanage fitness during these two months when the franchisees are in control of their players.”
Devajit Saikia shared plans for players’ workload management. (Photo Credit: BCCI)
“But overall, we are monitoring and ensuring that things are taken into consideration, given the two months’ rigour during the IPL, and how they have to cope up. Their programme has been set by our technical personnel well before the IPL starts. For all individual players who know they have a chance to represent the country, they are well aware of what they have to do and what they don’t. So all their do’s and don’ts and SOPs are well within India’s scope, and they are following them. So we can say that much only at this stage,” Devajit Saikia concluded.
