The England tour of India runs January through late February 2026, the headline bilateral series in the WTC 2025–27 cycle and the most-watched red-and-white-ball cricket of the northern-hemisphere winter. The tour covers five Tests, three ODIs and four T20Is — twelve fixtures across approximately six weeks.
Star Sports and JioHotstar share the India broadcast. Sky Sports Cricket holds the UK rights. Doordarshan picks up selected matches free-to-air under the Sports Broadcasting Signals Act.
Where to watch in India legally
Television — Star Sports network. Star Sports 1 carries the English feed; Star Sports 1 Hindi carries Hindi commentary; the regional-language channels (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bangla, Marathi) carry their own language commentary on the same match.
Streaming — JioHotstar. Mobile ad-tier free for Jio cellular subscribers; Premium ₹299/month or ₹999/year.
Free legal coverage — DD Sports. Doordarshan is expected to carry selected matches free-to-air. Historically the white-ball portion (ODIs and T20Is) plus selected Tests fall under the free-to-air mandate.
Pan-region availability
| Market | Television | Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| India | Star Sports + DD Sports (selected) | JioHotstar |
| United Kingdom | Sky Sports Cricket + TNT Sports (selected T20Is) | Sky Go / Now TV Sports |
| Pakistan | Ten Sports | PTV Sports (selected) |
| Australia | Fox Cricket | Kayo Sports |
| United States | Willow TV | Willow by Cricbuzz |
| South Africa | SuperSport | SuperSport app |
Series schedule (provisional)
| Format | Matches | Window |
|---|---|---|
| Test series (WTC cycle) | 5 Tests | mid-Jan to mid-Feb 2026 |
| ODI series | 3 ODIs | mid-Feb 2026 |
| T20I series | 4 T20Is | late Feb 2026 |
Cricket schedule — legal broadcasters by country
Pan-region rights split. Times and channels confirmed against official broadcaster releases; tour windows may shift — check the rights-holder app for kick-off the day of play.
| Series | Format | Window | Teams | India (legal) | Pakistan (legal) | UK (legal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICC Champions Trophy 2026 | ODI | Feb 2026 | 8 nations (TBC host: Pakistan) | Star Sports / JioHotstar | PTV Sports / Tapmad TV | Sky Sports Cricket |
| IPL 2026 | T20 league | Mar–May 2026 | 10 franchises | Star Sports + JioHotstar | Not licensed (PEMRA blackout) | Sky Sports 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 |
| Indian Premier League final & playoffs | T20 knockout | May 2026 | Top-4 IPL | Star Sports + JioHotstar | Not licensed | Sky Sports Cricket |
| England tour of India | Tests + ODIs + T20Is | Jan–Feb 2026 | India vs England | Star Sports + JioHotstar | PTV / Ten Sports | Sky Sports Cricket / TNT Sports |
| Australia vs India ODI series | ODI | Oct–Nov 2026 (tentative) | India vs Australia | Sony Sports / JioHotstar | Ten Sports | Sky Sports Cricket |
| 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 |
| BBL 2025/26 finals | T20 league knockout | Feb 2026 | Top-5 BBL | Sony Sports | Sony Sports (selected) | BT Sport / TNT Sports |
| The Hundred 2026 | 100-ball league | Aug 2026 | 8 franchises | Sony Sports (TBC) | TBC | Sky Sports + BBC (selected) |
| CPL 2026 | T20 league | Aug–Sep 2026 | 6 franchises | FanCode / Star Sports | Tapmad TV | Sky Sports / FanCode |
| ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 | T20 World Cup (Women) | Jun 2026 (England host) | 10 nations | Star Sports / JioHotstar | PTV | Sky Sports + BBC |
| Asia Cup 2026 | T20 / ODI (TBC) | Sep 2026 | 6 nations | Star Sports / JioHotstar | PTV / A Sports | Sky Sports |
| WTC 2025–27 cycle: India tests | Test | Through Jun 2027 | India + opponents | Star Sports + JioHotstar | Ten Sports | Sky Sports Cricket |
| Sri Lanka tour of Australia | ODI + T20I | Feb 2026 | Sri Lanka vs Australia | FanCode | Tapmad TV | Sky Sports (selected) |
| Pakistan vs Bangladesh ODI series | ODI | Apr 2026 | Pakistan vs Bangladesh | Ten Sports | PTV Sports / A Sports | Sky Sports (selected) |
Smartcric Guide is editorial only — we do not host, embed or link to unauthorised streams. Match access is via the licensed broadcaster apps listed above.
How to watch legally
- In India for the full tour, JioHotstar Premium annual at ₹999 is the cheapest legal route across all twelve matches.
- In India for selected matches free, check the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s pre-tour notification — DD Sports typically carries at least the ODI and T20I legs free-to-air.
- In the UK, Sky Sports Cricket via a Sky contract is the full-tour route. A Now TV Sports day-pass works for the individual Test days you want without committing to a contract.
- In Australia and the US, Fox Cricket (via Kayo) and Willow TV are the standard pay routes.
Smartcric Guide is editorial only. Copyright: [email protected].