India vs Sri Lanka 2026: How to Listen to Radio Commentary

India host Sri Lanka for three ODIs and three T20Is from 13 to 27 December 2026, starting in Delhi and ending in Pune. If you want India vs Sri Lanka radio commentary, the place to look is Akashvani (All India Radio), which has carried live commentary of India's matches in past seasons. You can hear it on a radio set, on the NewsOnAir app or website, or through any internet radio player on your phone.

This guide lists the six fixtures, explains where cricket commentary usually turns up on Indian radio, shows how to set up your phone before the first ball, and covers listening in the car, at work and on a mobile data pack.

India vs Sri Lanka 2026 schedule

These are the dates and venues the BCCI announced for the 2026–27 home season. Start times are set closer to each match, so confirm them on the BCCI website or app a few days before.

• 1st ODI: Sunday, 13 December, Delhi
• 2nd ODI: Wednesday, 16 December, Bengaluru
• 3rd ODI: Saturday, 19 December, Ahmedabad
• 1st T20I: Tuesday, 22 December, Rajkot
• 2nd T20I: Thursday, 24 December, Cuttack
• 3rd T20I: Sunday, 27 December, Pune

Where to find live cricket commentary on Indian radio

For ball-by-ball cricket on Indian radio, the broadcaster to watch is Akashvani. In 2019 the BCCI signed a deal giving All India Radio the radio rights to India's home internationals, and Akashvani has since covered major events such as the 2024 T20 World Cup, with pre-match and post-match shows around the games.

Rights deals and channel plans change from season to season, so don't assume. In the week before 13 December, check the NewsOnAir website or listen for promos on your local AIR station. The announcement usually says which channel carries the commentary and in which languages. On TV, DD Sports has shown India's matches in some events, which is useful if you want to watch the replay of a wicket you just heard about.

How to listen to cricket commentary on your Android phone

You have three practical options. Try the first one that works for you on a day before the match, not five minutes before the toss.

1. Use the official app or website. Prasar Bharati's NewsOnAir app and website stream many AIR channels live. Open the live radio section, find the channel named in the commentary announcement and tap play.
2. Use your phone's FM radio, if it has one. Some Android phones still ship with an FM radio app that uses wired earphones as the antenna. It works without mobile data, but many newer phones have dropped the FM chip, so check yours in advance.
3. Use an internet radio app. If you'd rather keep cricket next to your other stations, add the AIR channel's stream to a radio app. In RadioBlink you can add a custom station by pasting its stream URL, then save it as a preset so it's one tap away on match day. Our guide on how to find a radio stream URL shows where to get the link.

Make sure you don't miss the first ball

The easiest way to miss the start is to remember the match at the last minute and spend the first over hunting for the right channel. Fix that the evening before: confirm the start time, test the stream on the same network you'll use, and set a reminder 15 minutes before the toss.

RadioBlink can go one step further with scheduled playback: schedule a station for a day and time, and it starts playing automatically. Set it for the first ball of each ODI and the commentary comes on by itself. If you can't listen live at all, the app can also record a live stream to your phone so you can hear the chase on your way home. A free alternative is a phone alarm or a Google Assistant routine that opens your radio app, which we cover in wake up to radio on Android.

Listening in the car, at work or in bed

• In the car: a car FM or AM radio can pick up AIR directly where there's a local transmitter. For a stream, connect your phone with Android Auto or Bluetooth; our guide to internet radio in the car walks through five ways.
• At work: one earphone in and the phone locked in your pocket. Pick an app that keeps playing with the screen off (background playback), so you aren't unlocking the phone every over.
• In bed for the late overs: a sleep timer stops the stream after a set time if you doze off before the last ball.
• With the TV on mute: online streams usually run a few seconds behind live, and TV can lag too, so radio and TV rarely line up exactly. Choose one as your main source to avoid spoilers.

How much mobile data does a match use?

Audio is light compared with video. A stream at 64 kbps uses about 29 MB an hour (64 kilobits × 3,600 seconds ÷ 8). Going by that rate, a full ODI of around eight hours with the innings break comes to roughly 230 MB, and a T20I of about three and a half hours is close to 100 MB. A 128 kbps stream doubles those numbers.

Even on a 1.5 GB daily pack, a whole ODI fits with room to spare. If you're on a small pack, switch to Wi-Fi at home and use the stream only when you're out. Our internet radio data usage chart has per-hour figures for common bitrates.

A quick match-day checklist

1. Confirm the match start time on the BCCI site and which AIR channel carries commentary.
2. Test the stream or FM reception a day earlier, in the room or car you'll listen in.
3. Remove your radio app from battery-saver restrictions so Android doesn't stop it mid-innings.
4. Charge the phone, or keep a charger handy for an eight-hour ODI.
5. Set a reminder or scheduled start 15 minutes before the first ball.