Growing Popularity Of Fantasy Cricket Games In India

In India, cricket is more than just a game.

It is an emotion. That emotion is brought out every time people see their favourite team on the field competing with another team.

In a country of 138 crore people, almost every second person is an avid follower of the game.

You can witness that passion when you see them cheering for their favourite cricketers not just from the stands but also from the couch in their living room.

Unsatisfactory results bring tears to their eyes.

An entire nation cried when the Rahul Dravid-led Indian side were knocked out of the 2007 World Cup.

Not just the team, even individuals are bestowed with praise and honour.

Thousands gathered inside the Wankhede Stadium when the legendary Sachin Tendulkar bid goodbye to cricket, while thousands of others became emotional while sitting in front of their television sets at home.

Fantasy cricket only helped in adding to the popularity of the sport.

The introduction of fantasy sports meant that fans could take their involvement with the game to a completely different level.

A fantasy cricket game requires you to create your own team of 11 players from a pool of 22 players from two teams participating in an upcoming cricket match.

It is a points-based system, and the more points your players earn, the higher are your chances of winning.

There are plenty of fantasy apps available online that offer you the option to play a variety of fantasy cricket contests on their platform.

Since matches keep happening all the time, you have the option of creating multiple teams at the same time and participating in multiple competitions.

The Impact of the Indian T20 League

The Indian T20 League has contributed hugely to the growth of fantasy cricket in India.

Given the level of excitement the competition brings out of fans, it is the perfect place to take the temperatures a touch higher.

There are plenty of matches taking place at the same time and a fantasy cricket player has several options to choose from.

Thousands of Indian T20 League fans flock together on a particular fantasy cricket platform to try and test their expertise and skills and win prizes.

A Robust Growth Forecast

The fantasy sports industry is showing robust growth and is only expected to flourish even further over the coming years.

The Indian Fantasy sports industry is expected to show a compound annual growth rate of 38% and is set to reach Rs. 165,000 crores by the year 2025.

A report published by the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) in collaboration with Deloitte states that the total revenue earned by the fantasy sports industry in 2021 was Rs. 10,700 crores, a figure that includes Rs. 5,500 crores in indirect revenue.

The report also brands India as the world’s biggest fantasy sports market with the user base touching over 13 crores.

The forecasts are just indicators of how fantasy sport has penetrated the country in recent years. The growing penetration of smartphones are also contributing toward this growth.

Moving on, let us now discuss some of the basic reasons behind the increasing popularity of fantasy cricket in India.

Raises the Excitement Level

Fantasy cricket helps to raise the excitement of a particular match among the fans.

Participating in a competition with your team makes you play, anticipate and win rewards at the end of it.

In the process, you end up investing more time in the match than what you might have targeted.

It makes you study each player, their performance, the weather conditions and even the pitch.

Keeps you Entertained

Gone are the days when you used to surf between channels during the commercial break.

Once you create your own team and compete with others, you can keep yourself entertained by thinking about how many points you are winning by virtue of a power-packed performance from your selected players.

Increases your Knowledge of the Game

While creating your own 11 and locking horns with fellow cricket fans, you develop your knowledge not just about the sports in general but also about the workings of online fantasy cricket.

This helps you anticipate the shortcomings and skills of each and every player you invest in.

It also gives you an advantage over others.

Develops your Prediction Skills

On the basis of your past successes and the data you manage to gather on a particular team or a player, you can improve your prediction skills and gradually increase your chances of winning.

After a certain point of time, you would be able to predict results on your own, thus making you an expert fantasy cricket player.

Offers Exciting Rewards

The biggest perk of playing cricket on any fantasy cricket app is the reward that awaits you at the end.

There are cash prizes to be won in case you end up on the winning side.

100% legal in India

Fantasy cricket is completely legal in India as it falls under the category of skill gaming and not betting.

This is because the game requires players to utilise their knowledge and analytical skills to win.

The Supreme Court of India considers it 100% legal to play skill games like fantasy cricket both for cash as well as for free.

So those were some of the factors leading to the immense popularity of fantasy cricket in India.

If you are one of those cricket fans who have still kept themselves away from all the excitement and fun, it would be advisable to try it out.

Once you start to play fantasy cricket, it would prove to be an exciting engagement. Happy gaming!