# Rohit Sharma joins LightFury Games as investor 2026-08-24T10:34:22+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Former India cricket captain Rohit Sharma has invested in Bengaluru gaming studio LightFury Games and will appear as a licensed player in its upcoming mobile game eCricket. The startup did not disclose the investment size. Sharma is the eighth marquee cricketer to back LightFury, joining MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Tilak Varma, and Sai Sudharsan. The announcement comes as LightFury prepares for a phased closed beta of eCricket starting September 2026. More than 3 lakh users have signed up for the game, and its teaser crossed 1 million views over the weekend, the startup said. The game will feature over 700 officially licensed cricketers and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu as a commentator. LightFury raised $11 million in a pre-Series A round in April from Blume Ventures, V3 Ventures, MIXI, and Times Internet, with participation from the cricketer investors. The startup currently employs over 120 developers and is targeting an estimated 2.5 billion cricket enthusiasts worldwide. Sharma's investment is his second disclosed startup bet this year after fitness platform Fittr in June. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Indian Opinion Analysis: The bet by eight elite cricketers signals that LightFury, barely a year old, has convinced the angels it can solve the hardest problem in Indian game development: building an AAA title that competes with top international studios like EA Sports. India has roughly 511 million gamers but almost no home-grown AAA franchises. The closed beta starting September will be the real test, feedback from 3 lakh early users will decide whether the game ships polished or gets delayed. If eCricket succeeds, it could unlock a new segment of institutional venture capital for a sector that has mostly seen small bets. ## Coverage - inc42.com Led with the positive investor addition and startup's growth metrics, no critical questions about profitability or timelines This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Blume Ventures, eCricket, LightFury Games, Rohit Sharma Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/rohit-sharma-joins-lightfury-games-as-investor/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/rohit-sharma-joins-lightfury-games-as-investor/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/