Star Sports is the linear-television face of Indian cricket. The Star Sports channels — 1, 2 and 3, plus HD variants and regional-language splits — carry every IPL match, every India home tour and every ICC event the BCCI licenses domestically. This page is the channel-level reference: which feed for which match, the language tracks and the DTH sports-pack pricing in INR.
Where to watch Star Sports legally in India
Star Sports is a paywalled DTH product — Tata Play, Airtel Digital TV, d2h and Dish TV all carry the channels through their sports add-on packs. There is no free-to-air route to Star Sports; FTA viewers route to DD Sports for the slice of India men’s home tours that the government mandate covers.
| DTH operator | Sports pack (Star Sports inclusive) | Monthly cost (INR) |
|---|---|---|
| Tata Play | Sports add-on pack | ~₹25–40 / month |
| Airtel Digital TV | Sports HD add-on | ~₹30–45 / month |
| d2h | Sports add-on | ~₹25–40 / month |
| Dish TV | Sports add-on | ~₹25–40 / month |
The sports add-on typically bundles Sony Sports Ten alongside Star Sports, which is useful because Sony retains the India overseas-tour rights (Australia ODIs in particular) while Star covers India home cricket.
Pan-region availability
Star Sports is licensed for India only — the channel does not broadcast outside the subcontinent. Equivalents in other markets:
| Region | Equivalent linear channel |
|---|---|
| India | Star Sports 1, 2, 3 (Hindi + English + regional) |
| Pakistan | A Sports / PTV Sports (ICC events only) |
| United Kingdom | Sky Sports Cricket |
| Australia | Fox Cricket |
| United States | Willow TV |
Series schedule
The 2026 cricket calendar on Star Sports embeds below.
Cricket schedule — legal broadcasters by country
Bilateral India + Pakistan rights split, with UK and Australia for the diaspora. Tour windows shift; confirm kick-off against the rights-holder app on match day.
| Series | Format | Window | Teams | India (legal) | Pakistan (legal) | UK (legal) | Australia (legal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICC Champions Trophy 2026 | ODI | Feb 2026 | 8 nations (TBC host: Pakistan) | Star Sports / JioHotstar | PTV Sports / Tapmad TV | Sky Sports Cricket | Fox Cricket / Kayo Sports |
| IPL 2026 | T20 league | Mar–May 2026 | 10 franchises | Star Sports + JioHotstar | Not licensed (PEMRA blackout) | Sky Sports Cricket | Fox Cricket |
| PSL 2026 | T20 league | Apr–May 2026 | 6 franchises | Sony Sports (subject to confirmation) | PTV Sports / Tapmad TV / A Sports | Sky Sports / Willow TV | TBC |
| England tour of India | Tests + ODIs + T20Is | Jan–Feb 2026 | India vs England | Star Sports + JioHotstar | PTV / Ten Sports | Sky Sports Cricket / TNT Sports | Fox Cricket |
| Australia vs India ODI series | ODI | Oct–Nov 2026 (tentative) | India vs Australia | Sony Sports / JioHotstar | Ten Sports | Sky Sports Cricket | Fox Cricket / Channel 7 |
| ICC T20 World Cup 2026 | T20 World Cup | Feb–Mar 2026 (India + Sri Lanka hosts) | 20 nations | Star Sports + JioHotstar + DD Sports (selected) | PTV / A Sports | Sky Sports Cricket | Fox Cricket / Channel 7 |
| BBL 2025/26 finals | T20 league knockout | Feb 2026 | Top-5 BBL | Sony Sports | Sony Sports (selected) | BT Sport / TNT Sports | Channel 7 + Fox Cricket |
| The Hundred 2026 | 100-ball league | Aug 2026 | 8 franchises | Sony Sports (TBC) | TBC | Sky Sports + BBC (selected) | Fox Cricket (TBC) |
| CPL 2026 | T20 league | Aug–Sep 2026 | 6 franchises | FanCode / Star Sports | Tapmad TV | Sky Sports / FanCode | Kayo Sports |
| ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 | T20 World Cup (Women) | Jun 2026 (England host) | 10 nations | Star Sports / JioHotstar | PTV | Sky Sports + BBC | Fox Cricket |
| Asia Cup 2026 | T20 / ODI (TBC) | Sep 2026 | 6 nations | Star Sports / JioHotstar | PTV / A Sports | Sky Sports | Fox Cricket |
| WTC 2025–27 cycle: India tests | Test | Through Jun 2027 | India + opponents | Star Sports + JioHotstar | Ten Sports | Sky Sports Cricket | Fox Cricket |
| Sri Lanka tour of Australia | ODI + T20I | Feb 2026 | Sri Lanka vs Australia | FanCode | Tapmad TV | Sky Sports (selected) | Fox Cricket / Channel 7 |
| Pakistan vs Bangladesh ODI series | ODI | Apr 2026 | Pakistan vs Bangladesh | Ten Sports | PTV Sports / A Sports | Sky Sports (selected) | TBC |
| Pakistan tour of England | Tests + ODIs + T20Is | Jul–Aug 2026 | Pakistan vs England | Sony Sports | PTV Sports / A Sports | Sky Sports Cricket | Fox Cricket (selected) |
CricHD Guide is editorial only — we do not host, embed or link to unauthorised streams. Match access is via the licensed broadcaster apps listed above.
| Series 2026 | Star Sports channels | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| England tour of India (Jan–Feb) | Star Sports 1/2/3 | Hindi + English + 5 regional |
| ICC Champions Trophy (Feb) | Star Sports 1/2 | English + Hindi feeds |
| ICC T20 World Cup (Feb–Mar) | Star Sports 1/2/3 | All language tracks |
| IPL 2026 (Mar–May) | Star Sports 1/2/3 | All 70 league matches + playoffs |
| ICC Women’s T20 World Cup (Jun) | Star Sports 1/2 | English + Hindi |
| Asia Cup (Sep) | Star Sports 1/2 | English + Hindi |
Language tracks across Star Sports
Star Sports 1 — English (primary), Star Sports 2 — Hindi (primary), Star Sports 3 — regional language splits (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali). For each match, your DTH EPG shows the language carried on each channel. The IPL and ICC events get the full seven-language treatment; bilateral series may run fewer tracks.
How to watch legally
- Confirm your DTH operator carries the Star Sports add-on — most basic packs do not include premium sports.
- Activate the sports add-on for around ₹25–40 per month through the operator’s app or self-care portal.
- Set your EPG to Star Sports 1/2/3 — the channel-language map updates per match.
- For digital mirror, consider JioHotstar instead — same content, mobile + Smart-TV + 4K.
- For FTA only, accept DD Sports’ selective India home coverage and skip Star Sports — but you’ll miss the IPL, ICC events outside FTA mandate and overseas tours.
Star Sports vs JioHotstar — pick by household setup
A household with DTH and a TV is best served by the Star Sports sports-pack. A household streaming on phones and Smart-TVs is best served by JioHotstar Premium. There is no value in paying for both — same content, different delivery.
CricHD Guide homepage · IPL 2026 guide · JioHotstar cricket guide · DD Sports cricket guide