Rohit Sharma joins LightFury Games as Investor Alongside MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya; eCricket Closed Beta Begins September 2026

PNN
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 24: LightFury Games, the AAA-focused game-tech studio behind eCricket, unveiled its second official teaser for the game that reached 1M+ viewership over the weekend, signalling growing excitement around its flagship cricket title. Built as a deeply social and competitive cricket experience, eCricket aims to capture the strategy, intensity and emotion of the sport while building a deeply social and competitive cricket experience from India for a global audience.

Building on this momentum, LightFury Games also announced that Indian cricket icon Rohit Sharma has joined the company as an investor, further strengthening the group of marquee cricketers backing the studio's vision. Rohit joins MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Tilak Varma and Sai Sudharsan as strategic investors in LightFury Games, becoming the eighth marquee cricketer to invest in the company.
As part of the association, Rohit will also feature in eCricket as an officially licensed player, with his involvement extending beyond his presence in the game. His experience at the highest level of cricket, competitive mindset and understanding of the sport will bring valuable perspective as LightFury Games continues to shape an authentic, engaging and competitive cricket experience.
Watch Rohit's entry into the world of eCricket here: https://youtube.com/shorts/_zodQ-onwvc
With over 300,000 fans already signed up, eCricket is building strong momentum ahead of its phased Closed Beta rollout beginning September 2026. The first wave of players will get hands-on access to the game and play an active role in its evolution, with community feedback directly informing development and refinement ahead of its wider launch later this year.
The Closed Beta represents a defining milestone for LightFury Games, moving eCricket from anticipation into the hands of its community. By bringing players into the development journey, the studio aims to build a cricket experience shaped not only for its audience, but alongside it.
The newly released eCricket teaser puts the spotlight on Ultimate Squad, a core game mode that gives players access to a roster of over 700 officially licensed cricketers from around the world to assemble their dream squads and compete on their terms. The depth and diversity of the roster opens up countless combinations, match-ups and strategies, designed to make the experience more life-like, dynamic and competitive.
The eCricket Ultimate Squad teaser can be viewed at https://youtu.be/oWk5n-YcQ24.
It also features the unmistakable voice of former Indian cricketer and television personality Navjot Singh Sidhu, who joins eCricket as one of its official commentators. Sidhu will be part of a broader line-up of commentary voices available in-game, adding another layer of personality, familiarity and authenticity to the match-day experience.
Developed for cricket fans across the globe, eCricket brings together competitive gameplay, authentic cricket physics, broadcast-quality presentation, officially licensed players and high-fidelity visuals, with social and multiplayer experiences at its core. Designed to bring players and communities together, the game will enable fans to compete, connect and play with friends and players around the world, while experiences such as Ultimate Squad give them the freedom to build their own cricket journeys.
"High-performance sport is built on preparation, precision and the pursuit of continuous improvement. I see those same values refiected in what LightFury Games is building with eCricket. Their ambition to create a world-class cricket experience from India is compelling, and I'm excited to support that vision while helping bring the game closer to millions of cricket fans around the world," says Rohit Sharma.
Commenting on the announcement, Karan Shroff, Co-founder and CEO, LightFury Games, said:
"India has been one of the world's largest gaming markets for years. Our ambition is to show that India can build defining game franchises for the world. eCricket is our commitment to creating an authentic, competitive and technologically advanced cricket experience - made in India, for the world. The response so far, with over 300,000 sign-ups and our latest teaser crossing one million views, reinforces both the scale of that opportunity and the passion cricket fans have for this category.
Having Rohit join this journey is a defining milestone. His pursuit of excellence, understanding of the game and deep connection with cricket fans refiect what we want eCricket to stand for. With Ultimate Squad, we're giving players the freedom to build their ultimate squad from a deep roster of officially licensed cricketers and create their own competitive cricket journeys. It brings together the authenticity, strategy and competition that are at the heart of our vision for eCricket.
As we move towards the rollout of the Closed Beta in September, early access users will go from being spectators to becoming part of the development journey, helping us shape and
refine the experience. Cricket has always brought people together across generations, cultures and borders, and our vision is for eCricket to do the same by creating a global community that competes, connects and helps build the future of cricket gaming with us."
With eCricket, LightFury Games is looking to translate cricket's massive global fandom into a defining interactive entertainment franchise, combining the scale and emotion of the sport with the ambition to build a cricket gaming experience capable of competing on the world stage.
About LightFury Games
Founded in 2024 by industry veterans Karan Shroff, Anurag Banerjee and Tina Balachandran, LightFury Games is an India-based AAA-focused game-tech studio dedicated to building high-quality, cutting-edge gaming experiences. Together, the leadership team has worked on more than 40 AAA titles.
In 2026, LightFury Games raised a further $11 million to support the development of its global cricket gaming franchise. The funding round included institutional investors as well as strategic participation from prominent Indian cricketers.
With the completion of its Pre-Series A round, LightFury Games has successfully raised two rounds of funding. Its backers include Blume Ventures, V3 Ventures, MIXI, Times Internet and strategic investors from the Indian cricket ecosystem.
Supported by a team of more than 120 developers and industry professionals, the studio combines creative vision with technical innovation to build high-quality, globally competitive games. Since its inception, LightFury Games has placed world-class technology and talent at the centre of its growth strategy as it works to strengthen India's position as a hub for global game development.
To know more, please visit: https://www.lightfurygames.com
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