With the ICC Cricket World Cup recently concluded, there is a void in the lives of fantasy cricket fans, especially among those who played Dream11. But an exciting new update promises to be of great interest to fantasy cricket fans. According to recent reports, Dream11 has now become the official fantasy game partner for the European Cricket League (ECL).
Said to be cricket’s answer to UEFA Champions League, the inaugural season of ECL 2019 will be held at La Manga Club from July 29-31, 2019. The tournament shall be spread across 17 matches that shall be played in the T-10 format. The participating teams will be the current domestic champions of countries like Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia and Spain.
Presented as an event with a global presence, fantasy cricket enthusiasts will not only be able to play the matches via Dream11, but also catch the live stream online through FanCode. FanCode is an ad-free multi-sport aggregator platform created by the team behind Dream11. Together, they hope to make the European Cricket League an experience to remember for Indian fans.
Apart from India, the event is expected to be broadcast in various countries like the UK, Australia, Middle East, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Turkey, Spain, USA, Canada and the Caribbean.
Often considered to be the ‘home of cricket in Spain’, La Manga Club features an outstanding range of first-class cricket facilities that are expected to be a treat to watch for fantasy cricket fans worldwide. Over the years, the resort has hosted many high-profile sporting events such as the Spanish Open, the Davis Cup and the Feds Cup. England’s national football team is known to visit the popular resort for their in-season training.
Talking about the tournament, the teams would be split up into two groups of four, as the matches would be played on a round-robin basis. These matches would be played on the Club’s two cricket ovals and the top two teams from each group would then compete for the semi-finals and finals respectively. Along with popular cricket players from Europe, excitement for the tournament runs high as many international cricket players are expected to participate and play fantasy cricket.
After entering into a partnership with the ICC and cricket leagues like the IPL and BBL, this association with the ECL comes across as a promising move to create a global identity for Dream11.
It would be interesting to see how Dream11 moves forward from this point. Which avenue would it target in its road to prominence, not just in fantasy cricket but in other niches of sports too?