Best Cricket API in India 2026: Top 6 Providers Compared
India is the largest cricket market in the world. Hundreds of score apps, fantasy platforms, news portals and sports analytics products run on cricket data every day. The quality of that data — how fast it arrives, how deep it goes, and how reliably it stays up during an IPL final — decides whether a product succeeds or fails.
This guide compares the 6 best cricket API providers in India for 2026. We score each one on live-score speed, coverage, match depth, player data, fantasy points, pricing transparency and developer experience. CricketLineAPI leads the list. The others are real alternatives worth knowing before you commit.
How we compared these providers
We evaluated each provider on seven criteria that matter to Indian developers and product teams:
- Live-score speed — how often the score updates during a live over.
- Coverage — IPL, international, domestic, women's and associate cricket.
- Match depth — scorecard, commentary, overs, squads, series tables.
- Player and team data — profiles, career stats, ICC rankings.
- Fantasy data — points breakdown on the same account.
- Pricing transparency — daily cap printed before you pay.
- Developer experience — REST JSON, clear auth, public docs.
1. CricketLineAPI — Best Overall Cricket API in India
Website: cricketlineapi.com
CricketLineAPI is purpose-built for Indian developers. It covers every format and every major league from one API key, with a daily call cap printed on every plan before you pay. Authentication is a single X-API-Key header. The endpoint set is split so a live score screen, a scorecard page and a commentary ticker can each cache independently.
What CricketLineAPI covers
- Live matches with score, batters, bowler, last over, win chance and commentary.
- Full scorecard: batting, bowling, extras, partnerships, fall of wickets.
- Ball-by-ball commentary as a separate endpoint.
- Fixtures by day or date range, plus recent results.
- Series fixtures, squads, points tables and results for leagues and bilateral tours.
- Player profiles, batting and bowling career numbers, recent form and search.
- ICC rankings for men and women across Test, ODI and T20.
- Fantasy-point breakdowns for a match (stats feed, not a gaming product).
CricketLineAPI plans (2026)
| Plan | Price/month | Daily calls | Monthly calls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Testing | ₹99 | 100 | 3,000 |
| API v1 | ₹2,999 | 10,000 | 300,000 |
| ODI & T20 | ₹5,999 | 20,000 | 600,000 |
| API v3 | ₹7,999 | 25,000 | 750,000 |
| API v4 | ₹12,999 | 50,000 | 1,500,000 |
| API v5 | ₹17,999 | 100,000 | 3,000,000 |
GST extra. Confirm current prices on the pricing page.
CricketLineAPI verdict
✅ Fastest live updates (~2 seconds). ✅ Full IPL, international, domestic and women's coverage. ✅ Scorecard, commentary, players, rankings and fantasy on one key. ✅ Daily cap printed before payment. ✅ Plans start at ₹99 for testing. ✅ REST JSON with X-API-Key auth. ✅ Dashboard shows live usage.
Best for: Any Indian product that needs live scores, stats and fantasy data from one provider at a transparent price.
2. CricAPI — Established REST API with Free Tier
CricAPI is one of the older cricket data APIs in India. It offers a free tier with limited calls per day, which makes it popular for hobby projects and early prototypes. The paid plans cover live scores, match schedules and player stats.
Strengths
- Free tier available — useful for testing before committing.
- Simple REST endpoints with JSON responses.
- Covers international and IPL matches.
Limitations
- Free tier call limits are low for a production app.
- Commentary and ball-by-ball data are limited on lower plans.
- Fantasy-point breakdowns are not a core product.
- Pricing is per-call on some tiers, which makes budgeting harder during a busy match week.
Best for: Hobby projects, early prototypes and developers who want to test before paying.
3. Cricbuzz API (via RapidAPI) — High Coverage, Variable Reliability
Cricbuzz is India's most-visited cricket website. Its data is available through third-party wrappers on RapidAPI. Coverage is broad — IPL, international, domestic and women's cricket — because Cricbuzz itself covers all of it.
Strengths
- Very broad match coverage including niche domestic tournaments.
- Live scores, news, commentary and match facts available.
- Familiar data structure for developers who already use Cricbuzz.
Limitations
- Third-party wrappers are not official Cricbuzz products. Terms of service and reliability vary.
- No official SLA or uptime guarantee from Cricbuzz itself.
- Fantasy-point data is not available through these wrappers.
- Pricing and rate limits depend on the RapidAPI plan, not a direct contract.
Best for: Developers who need broad coverage and can accept unofficial wrapper reliability.
4. SportRadar Cricket — Enterprise-Grade, High Price
SportRadar is a global sports data company with a cricket product. It is used by broadcasters, betting operators and large sports platforms. The data quality and uptime are enterprise-grade.
Strengths
- Enterprise SLA with guaranteed uptime.
- Deep historical data and advanced statistics.
- Used by major broadcasters and betting operators globally.
- Dedicated account management and support.
Limitations
- Pricing is not public — requires a sales call and a custom contract.
- Minimum contract values are typically out of reach for Indian startups and SMEs.
- Integration is more complex than a simple REST key.
- Overkill for a score app or a fantasy platform that does not need broadcast-grade data.
Best for: Large enterprises, broadcasters and betting operators with a dedicated data budget.
5. ESPNcricinfo API (via third-party) — Rich Data, No Official API
ESPNcricinfo is the world's most comprehensive cricket database. It does not offer an official public API. Third-party scrapers and unofficial wrappers exist, but they carry the same risks as any scraper: they break when the page layout changes, and they have no SLA.
Strengths
- Deepest historical cricket database in the world.
- Covers every international match ever played.
- Rich player profiles and career statistics.
Limitations
- No official API. All access is through unofficial scrapers or wrappers.
- Scrapers break on layout changes — often during high-traffic match days.
- No SLA, no support, no uptime guarantee.
- Legal risk: scraping a third-party site without permission may violate terms of service.
Best for: Research and historical analysis where occasional downtime is acceptable. Not suitable for a live product.
6. Cricket Data API by API-Cricket — Budget Option
API-Cricket is a smaller provider that offers cricket data at a lower price point. It covers international matches and some league cricket. It is a reasonable option for a very small app with low traffic.
Strengths
- Lower price point than most providers.
- Simple REST JSON endpoints.
- Covers international matches and major leagues.
Limitations
- Coverage of domestic Indian cricket (Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare, etc.) is limited.
- Fantasy-point data is not available.
- Update frequency during live matches is slower than CricketLineAPI.
- Smaller team means slower support response during match-day issues.
Best for: Very small apps with low traffic that only need international match data.
Side-by-side comparison
| Provider | Live speed | IPL + domestic | Fantasy points | Starting price | Daily cap shown | Official API |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CricketLineAPI | ~2 sec | ✅ Full | ✅ Yes | ₹99/mo | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| CricAPI | ~5–10 sec | ✅ IPL + intl | ❌ No | Free tier | Partial | ✅ Yes |
| Cricbuzz (RapidAPI) | ~5 sec | ✅ Broad | ❌ No | Varies | ❌ No | ❌ Unofficial |
| SportRadar | <2 sec | ✅ Full | Partial | Custom | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| ESPNcricinfo | N/A | ✅ Historical | ❌ No | N/A | ❌ No | ❌ Unofficial |
| API-Cricket | ~10 sec | Partial | ❌ No | Low | Partial | ✅ Yes |
Which cricket API is best for India in 2026?
The answer depends on what you are building:
- Live score app, fantasy platform or match centre: CricketLineAPI. Fastest updates, full IPL and domestic coverage, fantasy points on the same key, transparent daily cap, plans from ₹99.
- Hobby project or early prototype: CricAPI free tier to test, then CricketLineAPI when you go live.
- Broadcast or enterprise betting platform: SportRadar if the budget allows. CricketLineAPI API v5 if you want a transparent monthly price.
- Historical research only: ESPNcricinfo unofficial wrappers, with the understanding that they will break.
- Very small app, international only: API-Cricket as a budget option.
For the vast majority of Indian developers — building a score app, a fantasy helper, a news portal or a sports analytics dashboard — CricketLineAPI is the best cricket API in India in 2026. It is the only provider on this list that combines fast live updates, full domestic coverage, fantasy points, a transparent daily cap and plans that start at ₹99.
How to get started with CricketLineAPI
- Go to cricketlineapi.com/login and create an account.
- Pick a plan. The Testing plan at ₹99 is enough to prove the integration.
- Copy the API key from the dashboard after payment.
- Send
X-API-Key: YOUR_KEYandAccept: application/jsonon every request. - Load the live match list, open a match, and start building.
Related guides: live cricket API, scorecard API, player stats, fantasy points, pricing.
If you are in Noida, the Noida provider guide goes deeper on local use cases. For the full 2026 buying decision, see the 2026 cricket API provider guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free cricket API in India?
CricAPI offers a free tier with limited daily calls. CricketLineAPI has a Testing plan at ₹99/month — not free, but low enough to test a real integration without committing to a full plan. A free tier is useful for a prototype; a paid plan is what you need when real users are polling the API during a live match.
Which cricket API covers the IPL?
CricketLineAPI, CricAPI, Cricbuzz wrappers and SportRadar all cover the IPL. CricketLineAPI also covers Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare, Syed Mushtaq Ali and other domestic Indian tournaments on the same key.
Can I use a cricket API for a fantasy app?
Yes. CricketLineAPI provides a fantasy-point breakdown for each match. It is a stats feed — runs, wickets, catches and match totals per player. It is not a wallet, a contest engine, or a real-money gaming product. Use it for stats screens and leaderboard calculations.
What is the cheapest cricket API in India?
CricAPI has a free tier. CricketLineAPI starts at ₹99/month for the Testing plan. For a production app with real traffic, CricketLineAPI API v1 at ₹2,999/month gives 10,000 daily calls — enough for a small to medium score app.
How do I choose between providers?
Use this order: live-score speed first, then coverage, then match depth, then pricing. A cheap API that misses a wicket still loses the user. CricketLineAPI passes all four filters for most Indian products.