ENG vs IND: JioHotstar bags streaming rights for India’s Test tour of England

JioHotstar has secured the digital streaming rights for India's 5-match Test series against England, starting June 20th. The deal with Sony Entertainment Network allows JioHotstar to stream the series, while Sony retains television broadcast rights

The Over-The-Top (OTT) platform, JioHotstar has bagged the rights for the digital streaming of India’s Test tour of England. India will travel to England for the upcoming five-match Test series, starting on June 20.

The five Tests of the upcoming series between India and England will take place at Headingly, Edgbaston, Lord’s, Old Trafford, and The Oval. Team India is touring England for the first time since 2022, when they played a rescheduled fifth Test in Birmingham, which England won to level the series 2-2.

The last faceoff between cricket giants in the longest format of the game was last year, when Team India clinched the five-match series against England with 4-1 on home soil, showcasing their dominance across conditions.

JioHotstar completes digital deal with Sony Entertainment Network

As per the report by Cricbuzz, JioHotstar has bagged the digital rights for the five-match Test series against England by completing a deal with Sony Entertainment Network. The report further added that the deal has been going on for one past month and two agreed to a deal in the last 24 hours. However, Sony Entertainment Network has retained the sub-license to live telecast of India’s Test tour of England.

Neither Sony Entertainment Network nor Jio Star have commented on the deal for the digital rights officially, but sources suggest an announcement is expected soon, confirming the streaming and broadcast arrangements for the much-anticipated high Test series.

As per the report by Cricbuzz, the current agreement between Sony Entertainment Network and Jio Star has extended to next year’s white-ball series between India and England. India will play three-match ODI series and the five-match T20I series against England in 2026 and JioHotstar will live stream those eight matches on their OTT platform.

India’s new Test era begins

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced an 18-member squad for the upcoming Test series against England. At the press conference, Agarkar unveiled Shubman Gill as the Test captain, with Rishabh Pant appointed as the vice-captain.

The squad announcement was making a lot of buzz and headlines as it marks the beginning of a new era of Indian Test cricket after the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin. Rohit and Kohli pulled the curtains on their Test careers before the England series, while Ashwin bid adieu to international cricket midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The selectors picked new faces into the India Test squad, including the likes of Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh, while Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur made their comeback to the red-ball setup, thanks to their performances in the domestic circuit. Harshit Rana and Mohammed Shami were excluded from an 18-member squad.

India squad for England Test tour:

Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav