Sachin Tendulkar is stepping into the gaming arena, this time as an investor. The former India cricket captain has acquired a minority stake in Metasports Interactive, the Hyderabad-based company behind mobile cricket game Hitwicket, as it sets its sights on 100 million downloads worldwide over the next three years. The financial details, including the company’s valuation, remain under wraps.
The partnership puts Tendulkar in the game in more ways than one. Alongside his investment, he will become Hitwicket’s brand ambassador and feature as a playable character. In a release, he said the game’s focus on on-field decision-making caught his attention, particularly the challenge of reading a bowler and choosing the right moment to attack.
Founded by Kashyap Reddy and Keerti Singh, Metasports says Hitwicket has reached more than 20 million players across 120 countries since launching in 2020. The company also reported that the game’s revenue doubled over the past six months, with more than half coming from markets outside India.
The Tendulkar investment follows a US $20 million financing round from London-based platform for mobile game studios Metica in April. The funding is intended to help Metasports attract more players and accelerate its international expansion without giving up equity.
With Tendulkar bringing his cricketing legacy to the virtual pitch, Hitwicket is looking to turn its growing global following into a much bigger innings. Its next target is a century of millions of downloads.
