How to Watch Cricket on Hotstar Free with Google Meet!

Having a tough time with no Hotstar subscription? Looking for ways to watch IPL or Asia Cup matches like India Vs Pakistan for free with your friends? Well, I’ve found a new way to stream cricket matches from Hotstar with the help of Google Meet. Thanks to one of our loyal readers, Giri Kalyan, for sharing this trick with us.

Editor’s Note: For a better viewing experience, it’s recommended (for the host) to stream the IPL matches from a desktop or laptop. Of course, you as a viewer can watch it on your smartphones or laptops.

So let’s get started!

What Will You Need?

Before you start following our guide, make sure you have these things on your devices.

#1. The host must use a PC or a laptop. Google Meet can be accessed from here or within Gmail on the left-hand side.

#2. The person (the host) who is willing to stream IPL from Hotstar must have Hotstar paid subscription (It’s me in this case) and must use Google Meet on Desktop for better viewing experience to rest of the friends joining on Google Meet.

#3. Chrome browser.

#4. Internet connection must be the fastest (at least 10 MBPS, Wi-Fi preferred). I tested this method on 20 MBPS speed though.

Note: This guide is for the person who is hosting the match with his/her Hotstar premium account along with Google Meet.

Setting Up Hotstar with Google Meet to Watch Cricket Matches Free!

Here are the steps you need to follow to watch IPL for free without a Hotstar subscription and using Google Meet.

#1. If you’re a host, head over to Google Meet desktop app and login with your Google account if you haven’t.

#2. Now, click on the “New Meeting” option.

#3. Once done, click on “Create a meeting link to share”.

#4. Now, you have to share the meeting link with your friends on WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, or whichever platform you’re connected on. You can copy the link from an option shown in the below image.

Note: Ask your friends to download the Google Meet app on Android or iOS or use the Desktop version to get started! Also, make sure they sign-in to the account with their respective Google accounts too.

#5. Once they use your link, it will now let your friends join your Google Meeting online room and you need to accept everyone’s request to let them join without any trouble.

#6. Meanwhile, open a new tab in your browser and open Hotstar premium account (sign-in with your credentials if not done) and get ready to stream, once all your friends have joined.

#7. Get back to the Google Meet app on your desktop once your friends have joined. Now, click on ‘Present Now’ option and select “A Chrome Tab” option in order to just share the browser tab in which Hotstar is open.

#8. Once done, it will now show you the open tabs on your browser. Select the Disney+ Hotstar tab from it and click on Share.

#9. Ensure you select the highest quality of video while streaming. You must also use the full screen option in Hotstar in your browser for a better experience.

#10. This will now start streaming IPL from Hotstar in your Chrome browser via the Google Meet app.

Does This Really Work?

I know this question would be on the cards right away! And hence, I have a few screenshots shared by my friends who were successfully able to watch the IPL matches on their smartphones and desktops as well which were streamed from my Hotstar premium account.

We also tried to replicate the same process in the ‘Zoom’ app but it didn’t work and it showed a blank screen, instead.

Editor’s Note: On the right-hand side of the screen (on using full screen on mobile and desktop), you’ll see a list of participants that will be blocking some part of the screen. To get rid of that, tap on the person’s photo who is sharing the screen and it will be done.

Here’s how it looks on Smartphone at a first glance.

Make sure you keep the Auto-rotate option turned on if you want to enjoy the landscape mode (full-screen mode) instead of portrait mode. And it will turn to this!

And here’s how it works on the Desktop too. If you’re seeing the participants on the right side of your screen, click on the host’s icon and it will be hidden.

That’s how simple it is to stream IPL for free from Hotstar with the help of Google Meet’s screen sharing option.

Once the match ends, you (the host) can close it by clicking on the ‘Stop Sharing’ option in the Hotstar tab from the bottom of the screen as shown below.

Is There a Limit for Participants?

Yes, there’s a limit of 100 members per meeting in Google Meet’s free version. If you want more participants to enjoy watching free IPL, you have to go for the paid plans of Google Meet.

Is There a Time Limit?

Yes, the free version of Google Meet limits the meeting to 60 minutes only. So, if you’re watching the IPL match for 4 hours, you must repeat the above process 4 times. And, if not that, you have to go for a paid membership of Google Meet plan to remove time limits.

Still Facing Any Issues?

Even after following the above method, if it’s not working, you can comment below with your queries and I will try my best to help you out with a proper solution.

Disclaimer: We urge users to go for paid Hotstar subscription because that’s the right way to support the official broadcasters. All the trademarks and images belong to the respective broadcasters.