Short answer: in the US, almost all live international cricket, plus the IPL and Major League Cricket, is on Willow, available as a standalone streaming subscription (about $10 a month or $80 a year) or as a channel on Sling, YouTube TV, Fubo and most cable packages. The catch is that Willow is a pay channel: apart from occasional promotions, very little live cricket is free in the US, and the overnight time difference to India and Australia means you'll rely heavily on replays.
At a glance
Cricket in the USA
| Main broadcaster | Willow (Willow by Cricbuzz) |
| Standalone price | About $10/month or $80/year |
| Also on | Sling, YouTube TV, Fubo, most cable |
| Major League Cricket | Willow, plus some local TV |
| Next big moment | Cricket at the LA 2028 Olympics |
Why Willow has almost everything
Cricket is sold country by country, and in the US one specialist channel has bought nearly all of it for two decades. Willow, now owned by the Cricbuzz group, holds US rights to ICC tournaments, the Indian Premier League, and the home internationals of most major cricket nations.
That makes the US unusually simple for cricket. In Britain, following a year of cricket means Sky, TNT Sports and the BBC; in the US, one channel covers most of it. The trade-off is that there's little competition on price, and Willow is the service you need even if you follow only one team.
Occasionally, a series or event lands elsewhere; ESPN, for example, has carried some cricket over the years. But for anything big, Willow is the first place to check. Our main cricket viewing guide explains how rights are split in other countries.
Three ways to get Willow
| Route | Approx. price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Willow by Cricbuzz, standalone | About $10/month or $80/year | Cricket-only households |
| Sling international or South Asian packs | From about $10/month | Also wanting South Asian channels |
| Cable, satellite or a live TV service | Included or an add-on, varies | If you already pay for TV |
Standalone is usually cheapest. The annual plan works out at under $7 a month, and it streams to smart TVs, streaming sticks, phones and computers.
Try it around a big event. Monthly billing makes it easy to subscribe for an IPL season or a World Cup and cancel afterwards, though the annual plan is better value if you watch through the year.
Check your existing TV first. Willow is carried by YouTube TV, Fubo, DirecTV, Dish, Xfinity, Spectrum, Optimum and Verizon Fios, sometimes in a base package and sometimes as a sports or international add-on. A TV provider login may already unlock the Willow app.
Watch out for Willow Xtra. Willow has run a second channel for overflow matches when two series overlap. Make sure your route includes it if you follow a lot of cricket.
What's on, competition by competition
Willow's line-up changes as individual deals are renewed, but its core in recent seasons has been:
| Competition | US home |
|---|---|
| ICC World Cups, T20 World Cups, Champions Trophy | Willow |
| Indian Premier League | Willow |
| England home internationals, including the Ashes in England | Willow |
| Australia home internationals | Willow, in recent seasons |
| Major League Cricket | Willow, plus some local TV |
| Other domestic leagues (The Hundred, CPL and others) | Often Willow; check each season |
India's home international series are the one area to double-check, as their overseas rights are sold separately and have moved between companies. When a series isn't on Willow, the rightsholder usually announces it a few weeks beforehand.
Major League Cricket and USA matches
Major League Cricket, the US T20 competition, is now well established. The 2026 season ran from 18 June to 18 July, with every match streamed on Willow.
Several teams also have local television partners, which can make some games free over the air in their home markets. In 2026, MI New York games appeared on the YES Network, Seattle Orcas on FOX 13 and San Francisco Unicorns on NBC Bay Area. These local deals change, so check your team's site each summer.
The USA national team has become a regular at ICC events since co-hosting the 2024 T20 World Cup. For the 2026 T20 World Cup, Sling offered the USA's matches free through its Freestream service, a sign that US team games may sometimes get wider distribution than other cricket.
Time zones: watching India, England and Australia
Where a match is played decides whether US fans can watch it live.
England: Test matches start at about 6 a.m. Eastern (3 a.m. Pacific). The final session of each day falls in the late morning or early afternoon in the East, which works for weekends and early risers.
India and the IPL: Evening IPL games in India start around 10 a.m. Eastern and afternoon games very early in the morning. Tests in India start in the middle of the US night.
Australia and New Zealand: Day sessions fall in the US evening and overnight, which suits the West Coast better than the East.
West Indies and the US: The most convenient of all, with daytime starts in US time zones.
For everything else, Willow's on-demand replays and highlights are how most US fans follow Tests. Full-match replays usually appear shortly after play ends.
What's free, and what isn't
Mostly paid. Live cricket in the US is overwhelmingly behind Willow's paywall.
Free highlights and replays. Willow runs free, advertising-supported channels on services such as Sling Freestream, Plex and Amazon's free channels, mainly carrying replays, highlights and programming rather than live matches.
Occasional free matches. Promotions, like the free USA matches during the 2026 T20 World Cup, happen around big events. They're announced shortly before, so check the week of the tournament.
Local MLC broadcasts. In a team's home market, some Major League Cricket matches are on over-the-air television.
Unlicensed "every channel" IPTV packages often advertise Indian or British sports channels showing the same cricket. They aren't licensed in the US, frequently fail during big matches, and leave you with no recourse, whereas Willow's annual plan costs less than $7 a month. Our guide to IPTV legality in the US explains the difference.
Looking ahead: the 2027 World Cup and LA 2028
Two events will shape cricket viewing in the US over the next two years.
The 2027 ODI World Cup, hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October and November 2027, is an ICC event, so on current arrangements US coverage would be expected on Willow. Southern African start times fall in the US early morning.
The 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles will include T20 cricket for the first time since 1900. Olympic coverage in the US belongs to NBCUniversal, on NBC, its cable channels and Peacock, which could put cricket in front of the widest US audience it has ever had, in convenient local time zones. Details of which matches go where will come closer to the Games.
Setting up for a series
Use one device for everything. The Willow app runs on Roku, Fire TV, Google TV, Apple TV, most smart TVs, phones and web browsers. Sling and the live TV services run on the same devices.
Follow the fixtures in the app. Cricket series are long, and the schedule lists every day's play with its start time converted to your time zone.
Plan for overlap. When two series run at once, one may be on Willow Xtra or streaming only. Check which feed your match is on before play starts.
A wired connection helps. A full day of Test cricket is a long stream, and a stable connection avoids repeated buffering. See our streaming box guide for devices that handle long live sessions well.
Quick answers
What channel shows cricket in the USA? Willow, which holds US rights to most international cricket, ICC tournaments, the IPL and Major League Cricket.
How much does Willow cost? About $10 a month or $80 a year as a standalone streaming service. It's also on Sling, YouTube TV, Fubo and most cable and satellite providers.
Can I watch cricket for free in the US? Rarely live. Willow's free ad-supported channels carry replays and highlights, and occasional promotions make selected matches free.
Where can I watch the IPL in the USA? On Willow, live and on demand.
Where can I watch Major League Cricket? Every match streams on Willow, and some teams' games are on local television in their home markets.
What time are England Test matches in the US? Play starts at about 6 a.m. Eastern, 3 a.m. Pacific.
Will cricket be on TV at the LA 2028 Olympics? Yes. Cricket returns to the Olympics in 2028, and US Olympic coverage is on NBC and Peacock.
Cricket rights are sold series by series, and Willow's line-up, prices and carriage deals change from season to season. Check the Willow schedule before a series starts. Checked September 2026.