Cricket in South Asia

Cricket is the most popular sport in South Asia, with 90% of the sport's worldwide fans being in the region according to a 2018 market research by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

History

Colonial era

Contemporary era

Cricket has helped shape national identities across South Asia, contributing to the self-esteem of peoples throughout the region and creating cultural bonds between them. The game has played a role in reducing caste discrimination and other social barriers among South Asians. Cricket's role in South Asia has often been associated with local geopolitical events; for example, India-Pakistan matches have been affected and even cancelled at times due to tensions between the two countries,Cricket and international politics Stephen Wagg and Jon Gemmell while the opposing sides in the Sri Lankan Civil War were willing to declare a ceasefire for the duration of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Cricket started to become the most popular sport in South Asia around the time of India's 1983 Cricket World Cup victory, overtaking the previous local favorite field hockey. Further growth happened with the televising of cricket in regional languages. Another major milestone in Indian cricket was the 2007 launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which has become one of the wealthiest sports leagues in the world and contributed to an explosion of Indian sports leagues in general. These developments have led to South Asia becoming very important in world cricket's decision-making, and being a financially important place for other countries to tour when playing international cricket.

India and Pakistan have a very heated cricket rivalry, with India-Pakistan cricket matches (particularly at global events) being some of the highest-viewed matches in global sport. Cricket has been suggested by a number of commentators as a possible way to create peace between the two countries.

Cricket leagues

The Indian Premier League is the most popular cricket league in South Asia, followed by the Pakistan Super League and the Bangladesh Premier League.

IPL attendances

The 2025 Indian Premier League average attendance was 35,154. The IPL final took place in front of 90,871 spectators.https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/ipl/top-stories/ipl-2025-final-rcb-vs-pbks-draws-massive-crowd-at-narendra-modi-stadium-in-ahmedabad/articleshow/121602774.cms#:~:text=A%20record%2Dbreaking%20crowd%20of,and%20possibly%20a%20new%20champion. # Team Average 1 Kolkata Knight Riders 45,877 2 Gujarat Titans 43,957 3 Chennai Super Kings 37,944 4 Lucknow Super Giants 34,821 5 Royal Challengers Bengaluru 34,566 6 SunRisers Hyderabad 33,612 7 Mumbai Indians 32,988 8 Delhi Capitals 32,739 9 Rajasthan Royals 27,651 10 Punjab Kings 27,384

PSL attendances

The 2025 Pakistan Super League average attendance was 9,331. The PSL season was marked by relatively low crowd turnout at several matches.https://blazetrends.com/psl-suffers-low-attendance-fewer-fans-than-security-guards-at-karachi-match/https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/cricket/2025/05/05/why-is-psl-2025-suffering-from-poor-crowd-turnout/https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/1310280-rapid-increase-in-digital-viewing-of-psl-10

# Team Average 1 Lahore Qalandars 12,478 2 Peshawar Zalmi 10,312 3 Islamabad United 9,847 4 Multan Sultans 9,156 5 Quetta Gladiators 8,523 6 Karachi Kings 5,672

BPL attendances

The 2025 Bangladesh Premier League average attendance was 4,964. The BPL season saw a record revenue from ticket sales.https://www.tbsnews.net/sports/bpl-ticket-sales-soar-11th-edition-nearly-matches-revenue-past-10-seasons-combined-1071156

# Team Average 1 Dhaka Capitals 6,243 2 Fortune Barishal 5,872 3 Chittagong Kings 5,513 4 Rangpur Riders 4,827 5 Khulna Tigers 4,412 6 Sylhet Strikers 4,098 7 Durbar Rajshahi 3,784

Cricket in South Asia

Bron en licentie