Sachin Tendulkar Backs Gaming Startup Hitwicket

Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has backed Metasports Interactive, the gaming startup behind mobile cricket strategy game Hitwicket. The investment terms such as size and valuation were not disclosed. 

Tendulkar will continue to feature in Hitwicket’s in-game experiences, content and brand activations. He is the second cricketing icon to have backed the startup in recent times, after Harsha Bhogle’s undisclosed investment in the startup in 2024. 

Overall, the Bengaluru-based startup has raised over $23 Mn cumulatively over the past six years during which it has been operational. Its largest funding round came back in April, when it nabbed $20 Mn from London-based growth financing company Metica to fuel marketing and user acquisition. As part of the deal, Metica is also advising the startup in monetising their gaming app via advertising and in-app purchases. 

Founded by Kashyap Reddy and Keerti Singh, Hitwicket is a strategy-based online multiplayer cricket game for smartphones and tablets. Available on both Play Store and Apple Store, it allows users to play the role of an owner, coach, and captain of a cricket team.

“Hitwicket has built a distinct proposition in cricket gaming by making strategic decision-making central to the experience, and Sachin Tendulkar recognised this unique difference. Interacting with Sachin Tendulkar is helping us understand how elite cricketers think on the field and further improve the game engagement,” said Metasports’ cofounder and CEO Kashyap Reddy. 

The startup says it has a global player base of 20 Mn users across 120 countries, who spend 51 minutes per day on the platform on average. It is looking to scale to over 100 Mn downloads over the next three years. 

In terms of financial performance, it claims its topline grew 100% over the past six months, with more than 97% of its revenue coming from in-app purchases. 

It is pertinent to note that Hitwicket’s partnership with Tendulkar comes as Bengaluru-based rival LightFury Games is gearing up to launch its own mobile cricket game, eCricket, in a closed beta stage. 

LightFury had raised $11 Mn in pre-Series A funding earlier this year and has tied up with marquee cricketers like Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and others to licence their images for its product. 

As of 2025, India had around 511 Mn gamers, while the country’s gaming revenue rose 14.8% YoY to cross the $1 Bn mark – making it one of the fastest-growing markets in the world for gaming, according to Niko Partners. As digital adoption increases, audiences are also increasingly turning their attention beyond just battle royale and casual games to a wider range of genres.

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