The Google India division of that global internet giant has expanded its major sponsorship deal covering Twenty20 franchise cricket's glamorous Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Google Search AI Mode platform thus becomes a premier partner of the 2026 IPL, which will start tomorrow (March 28), through a tie-up with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
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The partnership will result in live broadcasts of the IPL being integrated with analysis and statistics powered by Google's AI technology.
Throughout the upcoming season, viewers of IPL games will see AI-powered insights in broadcast coverage, while these same insights will also be discoverable by Google Search when fans input IPL-based questions into that engine.
Fans will also be able to use Google's AI Mode to compare historical matches and to create AI-powered summaries of matches.
Devajit Saikia, the BCCI's secretary, has said: "IPL has always been the heartbeat of Indian Cricket, and this collaboration with Google India to integrate AI Mode into Search will fundamentally transform the fan experience. We are thrilled to empower our millions of passionate fans with enriched and conversational insights."
Other sponsors of this year's league include Tata Group (title partner through 2028), RuPay, CEAT Tyres, My11Circle, and Wonder Cement.
Shekar Khosla, vice president of marketing at Google India, added: "With AI Mode in Search, we’re excited to help fans stay connected to the game's pulse like never before, continuing our commitment to bringing the best of Google AI to the world’s biggest sporting moments."
In terms of Google's association with top-tier cricket, it struck a wide-ranging partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC) in early February, ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup – which was held across India and Sri Lanka.
Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence brand served as the official fan companion partner to the tournament, with the Google Pixel line acting as the official smartphone.
Indeed, Gemini was also already set to be a partner of this year's IPL before today's news, through a January deal that marked the initial Google-IPL agreement.
A 2024 survey published by Deloitte suggested that India ranked first among countries in the Asia-Pacific region for generative AI technology adoption, particularly among younger demographics such as students and young professionals.
Elsewhere in sport, late January saw Google Cloud become the principal partner of Formula E.
The 2026 IPL, containing 10 teams, runs between March 28 and May 31.
