Looking to stream cricket live online? We’ll explain how to watch Indian Premier League (IPL) from anywhere, and let you know when the 2026 season will start.
It’s a good time to be a cricket fan in India. Half a dozen new competitions have sprung up in the last few years, including the Baroda Challenge, President’s Cup, and UP T20 League. For most, though, the Indian Premier League is the one to watch with the new season getting underway on Saturday, March 28. Below, we’ll explain how to stream IPL fixtures online, whether you’re in India or traveling abroad.
Note that we’ll only be discussing official broadcasters below. While IPL cricket matches may be available on other sites, these tend to offer lower-quality video and the stream could be taken down for copyright violation at any minute. Luckily, there are plenty of legitimate ways to watch IPL games online, as you’ll soon see.
Indian Premier League matches will only air on region-locked channels. To watch from outside of India, you’ll need a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
How to watch the IPL from abroad with a VPN
VPNs encrypt your data, providing a much-needed layer of protection that stops anyone from monitoring your online activities. However, they also hide your true location, helping you regain access to your usual services while traveling.
Here’s how to stream IPL cricket online from anywhere:
- Start by signing up for a reputable VPN. We recommend NordVPN, although Surfshark and IPVanish are high quality alternatives.
- Install the VPN onto any device you use for streaming
- Choose a server in India. This will give you an Indian IP address, preventing geo-blocked sites from realizing you ever left.
- Visit your usual IPL broadcaster. You should now be able to watch as normal.
- Having problems? In our experience, clearing your cookies and reloading the page should fix most issues.
Important: if you’re planning on watching IPL matches live, it’s a good idea to make sure your VPN works properly ahead of time. All of the services above offer free, 24/7 support over live chat which makes getting help as easy as possible.
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How to live stream IPL matches on Indian TV
JioStar holds the broadcast rights for the IPL until 2027, which means you can stream the 2026 Indian Premier League on JioHotstar (formerly Disney+ Hotstar) is where you can stream the 2026 Indian Premier League.
Watching every match live online requires a paid subscription. There are various options available including a mobile-only plan at ₹79/month, a Super Plan for full HD and two devices for ₹149/month, and Premium which, at ₹299/month, allows up to four devices, 4K streaming, and is ad-free except for live sports.
Note that if you’re a Jio telco subscriber, you may have free access to IPL streaming.
This service is region-locked and won’t normally work outside of India. However, you can use a VPN to access it from anywhere in the world. NordVPN has Indian servers and a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to try it risk-free.
Can I watch IPL cricket outside of India?
Absolutely! Cricket has a huge international following, so it’s only natural that the Indian Premier League will be shown in other countries. Here’s how to watch IPL games where you are:
USA
Willow TV is the official IPL broadcaster in the USA. You can sign into the Willow website or app using your cable provider details to watch online at no added cost, or sign up directly. A monthly subscription costs $9.99.
Sling TV also has a Willow TV subscription that costs $10 per month. This package includes roughly a dozen channels. Furthermore, if you’re using an older Smart TV (or one that doesn’t include Willow TV in its app store), you’ll be able to watch IPL games on the big screen this way.
Willow TV and Sling TV are both geographically restricted. If you’re traveling abroad, you can just use a VPN to get an American IP address and pick up where you left off.
UK
There’s only one channel showing IPL cricket in the UK: Sky Sports. Indeed, Sky holds the exclusive broadcasting rights through 2027.
If you’re already a Sky TV customer, just sign into the Sky Go app and start streaming at no added cost. However, if you’d rather stream Indian Premier League without cable, you can sign up for a Now TV Sports Pass (£14.99 per day or £34.99 per month).
Sky Go and Now TV are region-locked. To access their British content libraries abroad, you’ll need a VPN and UK IP address.
Australia
Once again, Australian cricket fans can stream the IPL on Fox Sports. In fact, Foxtel holds the rights until 2027. You have two options if you’d like to watch online: either log into the Foxtel Go app (assuming you’re already a Foxtel customer) or sign up for Kayo (prices start at $29.99 AUD per month).
Both of these services are region-locked. If you want to use them while on vacation abroad, you’ll have to connect to one of your VPN’s Australian servers.
Other locations
Don’t worry if we didn’t mention your country above! Take a look at Wikipedia’s list of international IPL broadcasters. It’s worth noting that this doesn’t show every possible way to watch IPL cricket, but will at least point you in the right direction.
2026 IPL schedule
We already have the 2026 IPL schedule and know that the opening game on Saturday, March 28 2026 sees last year’s winners, Royal Challengers Bengaluru host Sunrisers Hyderabad. We have 84 matches to look forward to with the season running until May 31, 2026.
You can find the 2026 IPL schedule on the official IPL website, which also shows all of the latest results as well as the current league standings.
Which teams are competing in the 2026 Indian Premier League?
There are 10 teams in this year’s IPL. This includes the early favorites, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians. Here’s a full list of every team taking part in the 2026 Indian Premier League:
- Chennai Super Kings
- Delhi Capitals
- Gujarat Titans
- Kolkata Knight Riders
- Lucknow Super Giants
- Mumbai Indians
- Punjab Kings
- Rajasthan Royals
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru
- Sunrisers Hyderabad
Watch IPL online: FAQs
Can I use a free VPN to watch the 2026 IPL live online?
Unfortunately, free VPNs can’t be trusted for watching the 2026 IPL live online. A big part of this is that they offer few server locations, limiting the streaming platforms you can actually access. Further, IP addresses are shared by many users and this often results in these IPs quickly becoming identified and blacklisted.
Performance is another issue because most free VPNs limit your data and speed. As such, streaming in high resolution is challenging and often results in heavy lag and buffering. This is all before we even consider that free VPNs often offer weak security and may compromise your privacy by logging and selling your personal data.
Can I watch 2026 IPL free with a VPN?
Although using a VPN can allow you to access free streaming services abroad, the platforms showing the 2026 IPL all require paid subscriptions at the time of writing.
As such, you can’t legally watch the 2026 IPL for free. You may be able to watch at no extra cost though if you’re already a customer of one of the streaming solutions covered.
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