Will Cricket ever make it big in the esports world?

William Davis Published 07/12/2021

If there is just one sporting positive that came from 2020, it was that many sporting federations around the world came to the sudden realization as to the potential that esports has. 

In this new era, some institutions could only provide their fans with live video game action since most real sports were postponed due to safety concerns. Thus, football players and teams turned to FIFA, while basketball players turned to the NBA 2K. The events that they held attracted a lot of new fans from all over the world as they were the only sporting entertainment available.

Cricket did not involve itself, though

Cricket boards around the world and players have not yet paid much attention to virtual cricket, which means that esports is just one of a few areas in the world of gaming that cricket has not explored. It’s surprising because cricket esports could gather a lot of attention from cricket lovers all over the world who like to bet on cricket online. This is especially the case in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. 

Imagine the hype if the BCCI announced to the masses of Indian cricket fans that it was planning an Indian Premier League esport competition. Having real-life commentators, the best gamers in the world, and some well-known Indian cricketers would lead to a very good esports event, that is for sure. 

Are there any cricket video games that could be a success in the esports world?

Football, tennis, basketball, and F1 all have esports titles. There have been attempts by software developers to create a cricket video game that has the ability to compete with the likes of FIFA, but none have managed so far. 

The ICC and EA Sports used to have an arrangement, and their video games were fairly, but the partnership was discontinued and a new game hasn’t come out since 2007. 

There is only one cricket organization that can claim to be at the top of their game when it comes to cricket and technology and this is Cricket Australia. The organization has a partnership with Big Ant Studios and helped to develop Cricket ‘19. This is, without doubt, the best cricket video game out there, and a sequel was released in early December. 

What made Cricket ‘19 so popular is how realistic it is, and this realism could go a step further in Cricket ‘22. Cricket has an enormous betting market and while there are now plenty of real games to bet on, there would almost certainly be interest in cricket esports betting as well. 

Will cricket esports ever catch on? 

Nautilus Mobile is a company based in India that has created a mobile game called Real Cricket. At the moment, over 50 million Indians have downloaded this game, but it is yet to get any real support from cricket boards. There have been some tournaments across India for the game, but there is quite a way to go before it can be classified as an official game. 

The number of investors and spectators in the world of esports is growing all the time, and it will carry on doing so since technology is improving in developing countries. It is estimated that India has around 130 million gamers, and this will increase as the country expands its technology sector. 

One day, esports will have caught up with cricket in terms of popularity in India, so if cricket is to become an esport at some point, India will have a big say in the matter. Although it will probably never become as popular as esports such as CSGO or Fortnite, India has propelled games like PUBG Mobile to amazing heights. 

Fantasy cricket

While cricket is yet to hit the big time in the world of esports like FIFA has, it is safe to say it has arrived in the world of fantasy sports. Nowadays, there are many fantasy cricket sites to register with and construct a roster of real-life players. 

As with any fantasy sport, fantasy cricket sees players earn points based on the real-life performance of their roster. These leagues can be done for either fun or big prizes. 

When it comes to fantasy cricket sites, there is one that stands head and shoulders above its peers and that is Dream11.com. At Dream11, players will find a wide variety of competitions that offer big cash prizes, albeit with an entry fee. Players can also chat with friends and challenge them to contests. Anyone interested in fantasy sports ought to check it out.

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