Sachin Tendulkar Invests in Metasports Interactive, the Company Behind the Game Hitwicket

Global cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar became a strategic investor in Metasports Interactive, a mobile-first competitive sports gaming company. With this partnership, the company looks to grow its flagship cricket strategy title, Hitwicket, to 100 million downloads within the next 3 years.

Founded by Kashyap Reddy and Keerti Singh, the game Hitwicket has built a player base of over 20 million users across 120 countries since its launch in 2020. The game has witnessed a 100% growth in revenue in the last 6 months, with players spending an average of 51 minutes a day in the game.

Hitwicket is a leading competitive multiplayer cricket game that is built around strategic decision-making and brings tactical thinking to competitive cricket gaming. This emphasis on cricketing strategy drew Sachin Tendulkar to the game and influenced his decision to invest in Metasports Interactive. Tendulkar features across Hitwicket’s in-game experiences, content and brand activations.

Talking about the strategic association, Sachin Tendulkar said, “Hitwicket stood out to me for how it brings the strategic thinking behind cricket into the game. Cricket has always involved reading the bowler, assessing the field and deciding the right approach for every ball. Hitwicket captures that decision-making, going beyond reflexes to recreate how a cricketer thinks in the middle. The game translates that strategic dimension into an engaging experience for players. I enjoyed playing the game, believe in what the team is building, and that makes the association feel natural.”

Kashyap Reddy, Co-Founder and CEO, Metasports Interactive

Commenting on the association, Kashyap Reddy, Co-Founder and CEO, Metasports Interactive, said, “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. Our 20 million players, spending 51 min per day in the game, demonstrate the engagement this approach can drive. Tendulkar’s belief in what we’ve built, together with the growth capital behind us, lets us take cricket strategy to every cricket fan in the world.

The partnership follows the USD 20 million user acquisition funding by London-based Metica in April 2026. Hitwicket’s strong monetisation metrics, deep player retention, and the consistent quality of its user acquisition data gave Metica the confidence to deploy capital at scale. Hitwicket has grown from an Indian cricket game into a global strategy title.

About Metasports Interactive:

Metasports is a mobile-first competitive sports gaming company building multiplayer sports games designed for long-term engagement and global scale. Its flagship title Hitwicket launched in 2020 blends deep, skill-based gameplay with mass-market accessibility. Hitwicket is the only Made in India game with more than 97% of its revenue generated through in-app purchases in India and International markets. Today, users spend ~51 mins daily on Hitwicket globally, comparable to the time spent by Football fans in the #1 Grossing Football game and 15 mins more than on Candy Crush.

With a long-term vision to create category-defining sports gaming franchises, Metasports is focused on shaping the future of competitive sports gaming on mobile. Operating with a player-first, performance-driven approach, the company maintains a strong focus on product quality, scale, and global impact, underscoring that India can build world-class gaming companies beyond casual or service-led products. Metasports has raised USD 20 million in UA funding from Metica (London). The startup is also backed by renowned cricket commentator, Harsha Bhogle. The game, designed as a skill-first, competitive multiplayer experience, has grown to over 20 million players across 120+ countries.

Metasports Interactive Secures $20M UA Funding from Metica to Scale Hitwicket Globally

Metasports Interactive, a mobile-first competitive sports gaming company, today announced a $20 million UA (User Acquisition) funding from Metica, a London-based growth financing company.

The fund will be used to accelerate growth for Metasports Interactive’s competitive multi-player cricket game, Hitwicket. The capital will be deployed towards scaling marketing and user acquisition, as the studio targets its next phase of global expansion. The funding comes alongside a technology partnership, with Metica deploying its proprietary platform to optimise Hitwicket’s in-game revenue performance, strengthening the unit economics that underpin the studio’s growth model.

Co-founded by Kashyap Reddy and Keerti Singh, Metasports Interactive with its flagship title Hitwicket, has built a player base of over 18 million users across 109 countries since its launch. Its strong monetisation metrics, deep player retention, and the consistent quality of its user acquisition data gave Metica the confidence to deploy capital at scale. With this funding, Metasports Interactive is targeting approximately 8x growth over the next 18 months, driven by intensified marketing in priority international markets, AI-led targeting strategies, and continued investment in product depth.

Kashyap Reddy, Co-Founder and CEO, Metasports Interactive, said, “With Hitwicket, our vision is to reach over a billion cricket fans globally and build a truly world-class gaming business from India. This partnership with Metica gives us the capital and the tools to move faster in international markets without diluting ownership. We’re proud to be among the first Indian gaming companies to access this kind of structured UA funding, and we see it as a model that can unlock real scale for studios with strong fundamentals.”

UA funding, a new financing model, has been gaining momentum in the global gaming and consumer apps industry. As user acquisition is one of the biggest cost factors for gaming and consumer apps companies, this growth model is increasingly emerging as a smarter way to scale given its non-dilutive, performance-led growth mechanics. The model is now popular across the United States, Europe, and South-East Asia, where it has become a standard tool for scaling mobile titles efficiently.

Phil Mohr, CEO, Metica, added, “User acquisition funding is reserved for companies that demonstrate strong unit economics and repeatable growth. Metasports Interactive stood out because of Hitwicket’s ability to scale efficiently across both India and global markets. We see a major opportunity not only to provide growth funding, but also to support growth through our technology by helping optimise in-game revenue to increase lifetime value. We’re excited to partner with Metasports Interactive as they build a globally competitive gaming business from India.”

As Indian gaming companies mature, building internationally competitive products, adopting rigorous data practices, and demonstrating the kind of predictable growth curves that capital providers require, game developers are increasingly attracting the attention of global investors and financiers with alternative financial instruments. Metasports Interactive’s UA funding deal with Metica is a signal of this shift.

About Metica

Metica is a London-based growth financing and technology company focused exclusively on the gaming sector. It provides non-dilutive UA funding facilities alongside a proprietary technology platform that helps gaming studios improve player lifetime value through optimised in-game advertising and in-app purchases. Metica partners with studios that demonstrate strong retention, monetisation performance, and data maturity. For more information, visit www.metica.com.

About Metasports Interactive

Metasports is a mobile-first competitive sports gaming company building multiplayer sports games designed for long-term engagement and global scale. The company is the creator of Hitwicket, its flagship cricket multiplayer title launched in 2020, which blends deep, skill-based gameplay with mass-market accessibility. With a long-term vision to create category-defining sports gaming franchises, Metasports is focused on shaping the future of competitive sports gaming on mobile. Operating with a player-first, performance-driven approach, the company maintains a strong focus on product quality, scale, and global impact, underscoring that India can build world-class gaming companies beyond casual or service-led products. Metasports has raised $8Mn in funding from Prime Venture Partners and Horizon Ventures (Singapore). The startup is also backed by renowned cricket commentator, Harsha Bhogle. The game, designed as a skill-first, competitive multiplayer experience, has grown to over 18 million players across 109 countries.