Cricket is the most popular sport in South Asia, with 90% of the sport's worldwide fans being in the region according to a 2018 market research by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Cricket has helped shape national identities across South Asia, contributing to the self-esteem of peoples throughout the region and creating cultural bonds between them. The game has played a role in reducing caste discrimination and other social barriers among South Asians. Cricket's role in South Asia has often been associated with local geopolitical events; for example, India-Pakistan matches have been affected and even cancelled at times due to tensions between the two countries, while the opposing sides in the Sri Lankan Civil War were willing to declare a ceasefire for the duration of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
Cricket started to become the most popular sport in South Asia around the time of India's 1983 Cricket World Cup victory, overtaking the previous local favorite field hockey. Further growth happened with the televising of cricket in regional languages. Another major milestone in Indian cricket was the 2007 launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which has become one of the wealthiest sports leagues in the world and contributed to an explosion of Indian sports leagues in general. These developments have led to South Asia becoming very important in world cricket's decision-making, and being a financially important place for other countries to tour when playing international cricket.
India and Pakistan have a very heated cricket rivalry, with India-Pakistan cricket matches (particularly at global events) being some of the highest-viewed matches in global sport. Cricket has been suggested by a number of commentators as a possible way to create peace between the two countries.
The Indian Premier League is the most popular cricket league in South Asia, followed by the Pakistan Super League and the Bangladesh Premier League.
The 2025 Indian Premier League average attendance was 35,154. The IPL final took place in front of 90,871 spectators.
The 2025 Pakistan Super League average attendance was 9,331. The PSL season was marked by relatively low crowd turnout at several matches.
The 2025 Bangladesh Premier League average attendance was 4,964. The BPL season saw a record revenue from ticket sales.