Twitter is where people go to follow their interests, have conversations on what they’re most passionate about and connect with other people. When it comes to sports, nothing compares to the love Indians have for cricket. As Twitter mirrors what’s happening in the world, during the cricket season, this much-loved sport is one of the most dominant conversations across Twitter timelines. Ardent fans of the sport discuss every move and shot-making Twitter the commentators’ box for millions of fans.
As per a recent Twitter research, 69% of all people on Twitter in India identify as cricket fans, and about 30% call themselves huge fans of the sport. These fans turn to Twitter not only to seek updates but also to actively participate in conversations. 51% of cricket fans on Twitter read posts about matches, players, and news reports; 25% plan to engage with Tweets during the match and about 21% after that action. While 31% plan to watch videos, 25% are on the service to follow their favorite teams.
The research also revealed that 67% of these cricket fans are excited about the upcoming cricket season, while among ‘huge’ fans, 89% share this excitement. In fact, the popularity of cricket on Twitter is evident in the growth of related conversations year on year. In 2020, conversations related to the sport increased by 23% when compared to 2019. A similar trend can be expected this year owing to the volume of conversations that have already started showing up on Twitter timelines. When we look back at the months of January-February in 2020 and compare it to the same time in 2021, we see a 63% increase in cricket-related conversations on Twitter.
Given the massive fanbase of the sport, cricket is also associated with driving positivity in conversations. Twitter’s study revealed that 45% of the people on Twitter tend to forget about the ongoing pandemic in the midst of the cricket season, about 44% connected to enjoy the sport and 34% just feel more positive about life when surrounded by all the buzz around cricket.
Not only do fans make the cricket leagues a massive moment on Twitter, but the service also offers several features that make it easy to follow conversations. Twitter’s emojis, a dedicated events page for all updates around the season, and the Cricket Topic introduced last year – are some features that allow fans a fun conversational experience.
