The India and West Indies series currently underway in the Caribbean will be streamed across India on a mobile application called FanCode, who have the digital rights for the matches, the organising board informed on Sunday.
The Indian women’s cricket team is in the West Indies for a limited-overs tour after seven years. However, the live streaming of the match by Cricket West Indies on YouTube was geo-blocked for users in India, causing fans to be upset on late night on Friday when the first ODI was played.
FanCode’s role as official broadcasters was subsequently confirmed to Scroll.in by Cricket West Indies’ Digital Manager La Donna Williams on Sunday.
“FanCode has acquired the rights to stream the matches live in India. It’s available on their app,” she said in response to a query.
The matches include the One Day Internationals which are part of the ICC Women’s Championship followed by a five-match Twenty20 International series.
The first of three ODIs was played on Friday at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua while the second one is scheduled for Sunday night. The game turned out to be quite the thriller as the hosts snatched a one-run win off the last ball.
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However, many Indian viewers were disgruntled by the geo-blocked stream on YouTube by the host cricket board. The app as official broadcasters was not common knowledge, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s handle for the women’s team not providing any official updates.
FanCode is described as “an app for premium content and fantasy cricket tips, stats, analysis and more” on its landing page.
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The following two games will also be played at the same venue in Antigua before the teams move base to Guyana, where they will compete in five Twenty20 Internationals later that month.
The second and third ODIs will be crucial for Mithali Raj and Co as there are only a few series left in the championship to seal their spots for the 2021 World Cup. India currently sit joint-third in the table with 16 points, behind Australia (34) and England (24).
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