Sachin Tendulkar Backs Hitwicket Amid Growing Competition

Former Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, has invested in Metasports Interactive, the Bengaluru-based startup behind the mobile cricket strategy game Hitwicket. The investment amount and valuation remain undisclosed.

Tendulkar will also feature in the game's content, in-game experiences, and brand activations as the company targets 100M downloads over the next three years.

How is Hitwicket Attracting Investors?

Founded by Kashyap Reddy and Keerti Singh, Hitwicket has attracted over 20M players worldwide, who spend an average of 51 minutes daily on the platform. The multiplayer game allows users to manage cricket teams as coaches, owners, and captains.

Metasports has raised more than $23.3M USD from Prime Venture Partners, Harsha Bhogle, The Chennai Angels, and other investors. Bhogle made an undisclosed investment in 2024. In April 2026, London-based Metica invested $20M to support marketing and user acquisition while advising on advertising and in-app purchase monetization.

The startup reported doubling its revenue over six months, with in-app purchases generating more than 97% of its earnings.

Hitwicket CEO and co-founder, Kashyap Reddy, stated that Tendulkar recognized the game's focus on strategic decision-making. Interactions with the cricketer are also helping the team understand how professionals approach the game.

LightFury Intensifies India's Cricket Gaming Competition

LightFury Games is preparing to launch eCricket, an Unreal Engine 5 title, through a closed beta in September 2026. Following its Aug 21 teaser, the studio will use Early Access feedback to improve gameplay, performance, and balance ahead of its late 2026 launch.

Access will be limited to registered early-access users.

The Bengaluru-based studio aims to build a global cricket gaming franchise, with over 700 licensed cricketers and over 300K fan sign-ups. In an interview with Outlook Respawn, co-founder and CEO of LightFury Games, Karan Shroff, described the ambition as creating cricket's equivalent of EA Sports FC.

He identified licensing, gameplay, social features, and live-service content as the game's four development priorities, adding, "Licensing can earn attention; gameplay has to earn time."

LightFury has raised $11M in pre-Series A funding from Blume Ventures, MIXI, V3 Ventures, and Times Internet. The round additionally includes cricket-linked investors such as MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Tilak Varma, and Sai Sudharsan.

The competition also includes Nautilus Mobile's Real Cricket, which has surpassed 500M downloads, and JetSynthesys' GEPL. Its third season featured eight franchises, an INR 3.1 Cr prize pool, and an Aug 9 final in Pune, broadcast on Star Sports and JioHotstar, with international streaming on Willow TV in the U.S. and Canada.

Ultimately, Tendulkar's backing gives Hitwicket visibility, but sustained gameplay quality and player retention will determine whether it can stand out in an increasingly competitive cricket gaming market.