LBW: Love Beyond Wicket

LBW: Love Beyond Wicket
Official Poster
Genre
Written byAruna Rakhee
Directed byGanesh Karthikeyan
Starring
  • Vikranth
  • Smruthi Mohankumar
  • Niyathi Kadambi
  • Harish
  • Daffe Naveen
  • Gundu Karthik
  • Ayaz Khan
  • Sindhu Shyam
Theme music composerArun Raj
ComposerSudharshan
Country of originIndia
Original languageTamil
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes44
Production
Executive producerRJ Shyam Sundar
ProducersPadmini Rajavelu
Rajavelu
CinematographyBarathkumar Gopinath
EditorsVignesh Arjun
Sreedhar M
Production companyA Tele Factory
Original release
NetworkJioHotstar
Release1 January 2026 (2026-01-01) –
present

LBW: Love Beyond Wicket is an Indian Tamil-language coming-of-age sports drama television series written by Aruna Rakhee, directed by Ganesh Karthikeyan, and starring Vikranth, Niyathi Kadambi, Harish, Daffe Naveen, Gundu Karthik Sindhu Shyam, Smruthi Mohankumar and Ayaz Khan.[1] The series' story is based on Cricket coach Rangan and his students. It premiered on JioHotstar on January 1, 2026.[2]

Synopsis

This series follows a failed cricket player turned coach for the Muthu Nagar Cricket Academy team (Rangan). Rangan's journey along with students at the struggling academy, who unite to preserve a legacy while finding their own paths, forms the main plotline.

Cast

  • Vikranth as Rangan
  • Smruthi Mohankumar as Minister Tulasi
  • Sindhu Shyam as Rukmini
  • Akshatha as Theovathy
  • Daffe Naveen as Matheyan
  • Ayaz Khan as Manikandan
  • Niyathi Kadambi as Thangam
  • Nikhil Nair as Rishi
  • Gundu Karthik as Pandu
  • Vishwa Mithran as Veera
  • Mohan Brat as Jackie
  • Sikkandar Basha as Velu
  • Jeeva Balchandran as Girish
  • Harishankar Narayanan
  • Ram G as Vinay

Production

Development

The series was announced by JioHotstar under the banner of South UnBound on 9 December 2025.[3] The platform plans to launch nine new original shows in Tamil language.[4] This series was created as the first series of the Hotstar Specials lineup in 2026.[5]

The series is directed by Ganesh Karthikeyan, written by Aruna Rakhee and producer by A Tele Factory, who previously produced Chinna Thambi, Eeramana Rojave 2 and Heart Beat.[6]

Casting

Actor Vikranth play the a Cricket coach Rangan. This is his debut role in a limited series,[7] alongside Akshatha, Daffe Naveen, Niyathi Kadambi, Harish, Sindhu Shyam and Ayaz Khan.

Release

The first trailer was released under the banner of South UnBound on 9 December 2025.[8] The first promo was released on 17 December 2025 and revealed the releasing date.[9] On 22 December 2025, was releasing the series song. The series was released on 1 January 2026 in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Marathi and Bengali.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Vikranth on LBW- Love Beyond Wicket: 'LBW allowed me to explore my connection with cricket…'". Cinema Express. 22 December 2025.
  2. ^ "Vikranth's LBW - Love Beyond Wicket gets OTT premiere date". Cinema Express. 17 December 2025.
  3. ^ "JioHotstar South Unbound: 25 Titles Revealed for 2026". Deccan Chronicle. 9 December 2025.
  4. ^ "JioHotstar Unveils South Indian Lineup Featuring Heartbeart Season 3, The Good Wife Season 2, Kaattaan Starring Vijay Sethupathi, and the Launch of Roadies in Telugu". Zoom (Indian TV channel). 9 December 2025.
  5. ^ "JioHotstar latest January 2026 releases: Vikranth's LBW-Love Beyond Wicket to Riteish Deshmukh's Bigg Boss Marathi Season 6". www.ottplay.com. 22 December 2025.
  6. ^ அட்லி தயாரிப்பில் விக்ராந்த் நடிக்கும் வெப்சீரீஸ்.. ரிலீஸ் தேதி அறிவிப்பு..! [A Tele Factory produced a new web series]. tamil.webdunia.com (in Tamil). Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  7. ^ இணையத் தொடரில் அறிமுகமாகும் விக்ராந்த்! வெளியீட்டுத் தேதி அறிவிப்பு! [Vikranth makes his debut in a web series]. Dinamani (in Tamil). Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  8. ^ "LBW OTT release date: When and where to stream Vikranth's cricket drama; trailer out". www.ottplay.com. 17 December 2025.
  9. ^ "JioHotstar unveils promo for new Tamil series 'LBW'". News Today. 23 December 2025.
  10. ^ "Vikranth's LBW to stream from Jan 1". DT Next. 20 December 2025.