2020 was a very bad year for sports as many events were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic that is currently hitting the world. The lack of sports meant that sports betting fans all over the world had to occupy themselves by other means and many turned to online casinos and eSports to get their gambling fix. However, things are looking up in 2021 and most sporting events have returned, albeit many with no fans in attendance. Now there is a backlog of cricket events to be played and betting sites are anticipating a huge year for cricket betting, and this is what we are going to look at in this article.

Indian Premier League

The Indian Premier League took place in 2020, but instead of taking place in India during March and April it was postponed until September and was played out in the United Arab Emirates. While it was great that cricket fans across the world got to watch some great cricketing action, it felt like a bit of an anticlimax which probably had something to do with the fact it was being played outside of India for the first time, was being played during a different time of the year, and because there were no fans present in the stadium.

Now, the 2021 edition of the IPL will not have any fans either, but at least it will take place during the usual months and will be played in India. There is definitely a lot more hype surrounding this year’s competition and that will be music to the ears of bookmakers across the world as this is expected to lead to a lot more online cricket betting on the event.

The IPL has become a cash cow for bookies and while the amount that was bet on the 2020 IPL was not small by any stretch of the imagination, it was not as much as it usually is. However, bookies expect that this was just a one off and believe that more will be bet this year on the IPL than ever before.

T20 World Cup

The T20 World Cup was supposed to be held in Australia in 2020, but it had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The ICC then announced that it would be held in October and November of this year, but instead of being played in Australia, it is now going to be played in India. Then, to add to the delight of cricket fans all over the world, they announced that there would also be a T20 World Cup held in Australia in 2022.

This tournament gets a lot of attention because which cricket fan does not like the idea of watching the best limited-overs cricketers in the world battle it out to be crowned the champions of the world? There is nothing better than watching wily bowlers try to outsmart batsmen who are trying to deposit them outside the stadium.

It is not yet known whether fans will be allowed in the stadiums to watch the matches, but as this competition is still six months away, we are hopeful that this will be the case. It is good that we have some cricket back to enjoy, but all cricket fans will agree when we say that a cricket game is just not the same when there are no fans in attendance. In fact, it is fair to say that no sports are the same without a crowd in to build up the atmosphere.

However, fans or no fans, the show, as Queen once said, must go on and bookmakers are expecting there to be plenty of money bet on this prestigious tournament, especially by Indian cricket fans. Although cricket was created in England and was spread across the world during the time of the British Empire, it is fair to say that Indians are the most passionate about the sport. This is highlighted by the fact that they bet hundreds of millions on every match that the Indian national team takes part in.  No other nation comes anywhere close to these betting figures. Therefore, it is really no surprise that bookmakers are expecting to make a pretty penny off the T20 World Cup later this year.

ICC Test Championship

There were plenty of Test series cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a lot of these were part of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship. For example, in March, the second Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan was postponed as well as the two-Test series between England and Sri Lanka. Then, in May, Australia’s tour of Bangladesh and West Indies’ tour of England were put on hold. Then, in June, the series between New Zealand and Bangladesh and Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were postponed.

In July, the ICC declared that their main priority was to find new dates for all the Test series that had been postponed due to the pandemic. However, despite putting in a lot of effort, they ultimately accepted defeat and declared that it was not possible to play a number of the postponed series as part of the competition. Therefore, they amended the points system to account for the different number of series that each team played.

There are still two Test series left to be played in this tournament and these are between the West Indies and Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. However, these games do not have any bearing on the competition at all as New Zealand and India have qualified for the final already. The fact that India have made it to the final is something that will bookmakers around the world rubbing their hands together since millions and millions of Indian cricket fans will be lining up to put bets on their team being victorious.