Impact of fantasy cricket on cricket

antasy sports and gaming have long been vouched as a great means for sports fans to play vicariously. However, most of this had long been restricted to soccer, American football or rugby and basketball. Hence, it comes as great news to all cricket fans that they now get the opportunity to enjoy playing fantasy cricket. However, fantasy cricket is not just another video-game or mobile app that has apparently no impact on the world- rather, it is something that is symbiotic with real life cricket. This means that playing fantasy cricket can and will impact real cricket!

Let’s see what impact playing fantasy cricket had on real life cricket. 

1. Increased viewership

One of the biggest effects that fantasy cricket can have overall on real cricket is in creasing engagement and viewership. Everyone likes to have a holistic experience rather than a regular two dimensional one. Fantasy cricket provides viewers the perfect experience to take their sportsmanship of their heads and on to the screen, without even moving! People can play against each other, form teams and perform exactly like they would in a real cricket match: moreover, players even win money with no idea terms and conditions. All this gets people of all ages more interested in sports. The possibility to be a part of the game entices several thousands of people, and increases viewership. Also, camaraderie increases indirectly- which also increases viewership. As people start competing against each other, they either get to know new people, or understand people they already know better. 

2. Sports partnerships

Fantasy cricket influences sports partnerships. Cricket leagues increasingly use Fantasy Cricket platforms as their primary tool for fan engagement. As people start to play fantasy cricket and experience the nuances of the e-sport, cricket leagues have started to acknowledge this. In order to gain a symbiotic profit, they often partner up with fantasy cricket platforms. Several famous cricketers join the platform as ambassadors, who play along with virtual players worldwide, and often have big prizes and offers waiting when they win. The cricket team in turn receives more support from fans and viewers. 

3. Sportscasting

With more audience access points, comes more responsibility. Sports broadcasters typically spends around 12 hours a day writing, producing, shooting, and editing content for their broadcasts. Those 12 hours don’t always include his time engaging with fans on social media though. In some ways, how fantasy sportscasters use social media to engage with fans is more important than the actual show. When compared to traditional sports broadcasters, there is a heightened sense of importance on the level of trust and immediacy between the audience and sportscaster in the world of fantasy. Sports broadcasters for fantasy not only have to be exceptional entertainers, but also talented statisticians. The ability to understand and accurately interpret substantial amounts of data is important for establishing trust with fans, but so is the sportscaster’s ability to connect on an emotional level.

4. Spirit of the game

Lastly, but certainly not least, is the overall spirit of the game. Previously, when sports matches religiously involved viewing, but no real participation, viewers had lesser team spirit. However, studies have found that fantasy cricket acts as a two way lane- because viewers and fans actually have a role where they can play in an augmented reality version of the game they are watching, they feel more inclined to be more active in their support, and are more committed and attached to teams. Say, they play in a certain team in their fantasy cricket game, they might be emotionally connected to that team while during the play-offs (in real life) and be active in their support.