It will start on September 19 with the defending champions Mumbai Indians taking on the arch-nemesis, Chennai Super Kings. Other than these two teams, we have Royal Challengers Bangalore, SunRisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Delhi Capitals. The excitement to watch IPL 2021 matches is quite high across the globe, considering T20 World Cup is scheduled right after the Indian Premier League 2021. And thanks (but no thanks) to the pandemic; cricket fans won’t probably be able to enjoy watching IPL live in the stadium, but not to worry. Like every year, TechPP will help you out with a guide to watch IPL 2021 online for free or at least without breaking the bank, depending upon your location. Update: IPL 2023 Live Streaming Guide
Vivo IPL 2021 Live Streaming Guide
While there were uncertainties regarding the dates and schedule of IPL 2021, BCCI managed to convince all the stakeholders to conduct IPL 2021 in India during the lucrative summer holiday season of April-May. As a result, 60 cricket matches of IPL 2021 will be broadcasted and live-streamed across 120 countries around the globe. Star Sports continue to be the exclusive broadcaster for IPL matches in India. They will be telecasting Indian Premier League 2021 matches live in English and eight different regional languages, including Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Bangla. Sky Sports is the official broadcaster in the UK, while SuperSport will be telecasting IPL cricket matches in South Africa. BeIN Sports will be the home for IPL 2021 in Middle East & North Africa. And finally, Fox Sports will broadcast IPL in Australia and New Zealand. Interestingly, there won’t be any TV broadcast of IPL 2021 in Pakistan. As for IPL cricket live streaming, Hotstar holds the rights for the biggest cricketing nation, while others like Willow TV, Yupp TV, and Sky cricket will cater to countries across the globe. More on that later in this article.
IPL Live Streaming Online 2021: How to watch IPL online in India
Like we mentioned earlier, Hotstar holds the exclusive rights to live stream IPL 2021 matches in India like they have been doing for more than half a decade. Two years back, the Disney-owned streaming platform had shattered its own record by fetching 300 million viewers and recording 18.6 million concurrent viewers at one point during the IPL 2019 final between MI and CSK.
Annual membership for Disney+ Hotstar Premium costs just Rs 1499 ($20), which is a great value for money. However, if someone finds it expensive, one can simply opt for a monthly plan instead of just Rs 299 ($4). Another option is to get a Disney+ Hotstar Super subscription which includes cricket live streaming at just Rs 899 per year ($12.2). Desktop and Laptop users (Windows, Mac OS, Linux) can watch the IPL 2021 live stream on Hotstar.com. Some broadband providers like Jio Fiber also provide a free yearly subscription to Hotstar. Also, Hotstar is the best place to watch IPL 2021 highlights if you miss out on watching the matches live.
How to Watch IPL 2021 Live online on Mobile in India
India has by far the craziest cricket fans globally, and it’s no different when it comes to IPL cricket. This BCCI-run tournament has multiple ways to get Indian Premier League cricket live streams in India. So let’s take a look.
1. Watch IPL 2021 on Hotstar
If you are a Disney+ Hotstar subscriber already, you can livestream IPL 2021 matches on the official apps available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
2. IPL Live streaming for free on Reliance JioTV
Reliance Jio, in partnership with Disney+ Hotstar, will allow select prepaid, JioFiber customers to stream IPL 2021 free of cost according to a new report. Reliance Jio has introduced two new plans under the Jio ‘Dhan Dhana Dhan’ offer.
Jio Rs 401 Recharge Plan: This plan offers Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription for an entire year, and 3 GB of data per day for 28 days. Jio Rs 598 Recharge Plan: This plan, too, is bundled with a Disney+ Hotstar VIP annual subscription, but with a daily data limit of 2GB per day, for 56 days. Jio Rs 777 Recharge Plan: Similarly, the Jio Rs 777 recharge plan comes with Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription for a year, but for 1.5 GB of data per day, which will expire after 84 days. Jio Rs 2,599 Recharge Plan: This one comes with a year of Disney+ Hotstar subscription, but it is hard to find the regular subscription since the plan is only valid for one year and it only offers 2 GB data per day.
The recently revised Reliance JioFiber home broadband plans include subscriptions to video streaming services as part of the subscription. The JioFiber Gold plan starts at Rs 999 per month, and the new broadband plans start at Rs 399 per month. The Jio Fiber Gold plan for Rs 999 (150Mbps speed and unlimited data), the JioFiber Diamond plan for Rs 1,499 (300Mbps speed), the JioFiber Diamond+ plan for Rs 2,499 (500Mbps speed), and the JioFiber Platinum plan for Rs 3,999 (1Gbps speed) all bundle the Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription, along with Sony Liv, Jio Cinema, Voot and Zee5 to name a few.
3. Watch IPL 2021 for Free on Airtel TV
For Airtel users, they can find a new plan for Rs 401 under the data section. Users will get 3 GB of data per day for 28 days. Moreover, they will get an annual subscription to Disney+ Hotstar VIP. Other Airtel recharge plans with free Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription includes Rs 499 plan (28 days), Rs 599 plan (56 days), and Rs 2698 plan (365 days) To be clear, unlike previous years, not all Reliance Jio and Airtel subscribers will be able to watch IPL 2021 online for free. Instead, users need to opt for some specific plans that come with a Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription to live stream IPL 2021.
4. Watch IPL 2021 for Free on Vodafone-Idea
Unlike previous years, Vi (Vodafone Idea) customers too can enjoy watching IPL online for free as Vi has announced a strategic partnership with the Disney+ Hotstar to launch these new recharge packs with one year of free VIP membership. But, unfortunately, the streaming will be restricted to 720p and not Full HD like on the premium plan. The recharge plans with a free Hotstar subscription include Rs 401 (3GB per day, 28 days), Rs 601 (3GB per day, 56 days), Rs 501 (75GB, 56 days), and Rs 801 (348GB, 84 days).
4. DishTV Anywhere
If you are a DishTV DTH subscriber, you can go to the DishTVAnywhere website, where you will be able to live stream IPL matches for free through Star Sports. You will need to log in with your registered mobile number.
5. Tata Sky Mobile
Like DishTV, Tata Sky DTH subscribers can use the Tata Sky mobile app to watch IPL 2021 online after logging in with their registered mobile number. (Update: Looks like Tata Sky is forcing users to have a Hotstar subscription to watch Star Sports channels via Tata Sky app)
How to Watch IPL 2021 Online in the US and Canada
Unlike last year, when Willow TV lost the IPL live streaming rights in the US and Canada regions to Disney+ Hotstar, they have got back IPL 2021 broadcasting rights this year. So yes, the favorite platform for cricket lovers in North America, Willow TV, will live stream IPL 2021.
How to Watch IPL 2021 Live stream in Australia
Like the last three years, Fox Sports holds the rights to watch IPL live streaming in Australia. On TV, every match can be viewed on Fox Cricket, which is exclusively available on Foxtel. Along with Fox Sports, OTT platform Kayo Sports will live stream IPL in the region.
If you are looking to live stream IPL 2021 in Australia, you can use the Fox GO app, which comes for free if you are a Foxtel subscriber or subscribe to Yupp TV who will be live streaming IPL 2021 in 10 countries including Australia and New Zealand. The subscription is priced at AUD 24.99 for the whole of Vivo IPL 2021. As you can see, that’s quite pricey in comparison to Hotstar in India. While Hotstar is geo-blocked, one can try using a VPN to access it. More on that later in this article.
How to Watch IPL 2021 Live Stream in the UK
As mentioned earlier, Sky Sports is the official partner for both TV broadcast and Livestreaming of IPL 2021 cricket in the United Kingdom and Ireland. As a result, viewers will be able to watch all 60 matches exclusively live on Sky Sports. Now TV daily and monthly passes are available for £9.99 and £33.99 respectively and give access to the channel. Legal streaming access can be found via SkyGo – Sky’s online viewing platform – and its mobile app. Disney+ Hotstar app will also be live-streaming the cricket matches in the UK.
How to Live stream IPL 2021 in South Africa and Middle East
South Africa has had an important role to be played in IPL history. In addition to several players being associated with various teams in IPL, the country even hosted the IPL 2 in 2009. SuperSport is the official broadcaster of IPL 2021 in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. If you are an existing subscriber of SuperSport, you can catch the IPL 14 live stream here. You need to have a valid DStv package though. IPL fans will need to subscribe to Yupp TV to watch IPL 2021 online in the Middle East. Or use beIN connect which charges $18 a month to subscribe. The countries include UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
How to watch IPL online in Malaysia, Singapore, Continental Europe, South America
YuppTV has been granted the exclusive rights to live stream IPL 2021 in Malaysia, Singapore, Continental Europe and South America. Monthly access for YuppTV costs MYR 9.99 in Malaysia, SGD 29.99 in Singapore and EUR 11.99 in Continental Europe. In addition, cricket lovers in South America can watch IPL live online by paying a monthly charge of $9.99 on YuppTV.
IPL live telecast 2021: How to watch IPL in Pakistan
Interestingly, cricket fans in Pakistan will continue to miss out on watching IPL live since the telecast has been banned in the country. There were some reports of Yupp TV live streaming IPL 2021 in Pakistan, but TechPP hasn’t managed to verify these reports. So instead, fans can resort to using a VPN to watch IPL live.
How to Use VPN to Watch IPL Online
As we have seen so far, it costs close to nothing when it comes to the subscription to watch IPL 2021 on Hotstar in India when compared with other countries like the US, UK, Canada or Australia. Considering the cheap pricing for Hotstar VIP in India (~$5.4 per year), users can sign up for reliable premium VPN services like ExpressVPN or Windscribe or NordVPN or SurfShark and save on the subscription costs. If you are watching only a few matches, you can even check out some Free VPN services from this list but not many have a server in India available for free. Update:
How can I watch IPL 2021 for free?
After this article went live, a few asked if they could watch IPL 2021 live online for free. Well, that depends on the definition and context of ‘free’. For example, Hotstar VIP is provided for free in India as part of certain prepaid plans on Airtel and Reliance Jio with some broadband plans like Jio Fiber. Similarly, if you are already subscribed to Tata Sky or DishTV DTH, you can watch the IPL cricket matches on phone for ‘free’. But if you are looking for an absolute way to watch IPL 2021 live streams for free, then I’m afraid there isn’t any legal way to do so. Yes, there are some possibly illegal stuff like ThopTV and CricHD, but many of them are ridden with malware and adware crap, and not to mention the lack of reliability. Hence not recommended. Just for few bucks, you can get quality live streams for IPL 2021. So why bother?
