By Babita Sharma

BROOKLYN, NY (TIP): Cricket fans are in for a surprise as for the first time, Hotstar, India’s largest premium live streaming service, which was launched in the U.S. in September, will be beaming live matches from the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL), an eight-team game, since its inception in the year 2008.

On February 24 afternoon, Hotstar hosted an event named “VIVO IPL HOTSTAR CRICFEST”, at MatchPoint in Gravesend, Brooklyn, in association with event partner, CricClubs.

Ms Ispita Dasgupta, President, Hotstar International at Star India presented the content and features of Hotstar platform. It was a unique and engaging experience for Indian diaspora cricket fans settled in the USA. Hotstar, a multi-digital platform will allow crickets enthusiasts to see their favorite teams and players in action on their mobile device nationwide anytime, anywhere.

The event was graced by cricket legends  Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh “Bhajji”  who interacted with the fans and the audience,  with the former detailing his experience at the highest levels in England and in the IPL before retiring in 2010; and the latter shedding light on his experience as a cricketer, and who is still actively associated with, and will play in the IPL with Chennai Super Kings though earlier, for 10 years, he played for Mumbai.

The event allowed the attendees to taste street food from each of the eight Indian cities in the league and enjoy live entertainment that included, from kids and adults alike, testing their skills in the batting cage and then getting a virtual experience of a cricket stadium amongst other form of activities.

Hotstar streaming of the IPL that starts in April 2018 is set at $9.99 per month, the first month being free, the viewers can enjoy all IPL matches with commentary in six different languages, including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali. Harbhajan Singh Bhajji, however, suggested including commentary in Punjabi language also, which he said was spoken by a large number of Punjabis in the US and Canada.

This promises for an Immersive Virtual Reality experience that would enable the fans to come closer to the game within the comfort of their homes and would also allow the fans to relive important core moments during any game.

“We are interested in the casual cricket fans here in the USA, and we are constantly innovating to make their experience engaging and immersive”, concluded Ms Ispita Dasgupta, President of Hotstar International.