The Season 2 of the Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL) was kicked off in formal grandeur at Koramangala Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru, marking the definitive take-off stage of the evolving Indian esports arena. Headlined by JetSynthesys, the league neatly merges India’s intrinsic affinity towards cricket and the burgeoning yet aggressive field of professional digital sports gaming.
This season brings aboard six franchise-owned teams, with each of these teams named after a big Indian city and owned by biggies from the fields of business, entertainment, and investment:
- Mumbai Grizzlies – Owned by businesswoman Sara Tendulkar
- Delhi Sharks – Owned by Lenskart CEO Peyush Bansal
- Bengaluru Badgers – Jointly owned by Nikhil Kamath (Zerodha), Ankit Nagori (Curefoods), and Prashant Prakash (Accel India)
- Chennai Falcons – Sponsored by Gopal Srinivasan (TVS Capital Funds), Madhusudanan R (YAP), and Arjun Santhanakrishnan
- Hyderabad Rhinos – Controlled by Amit Mehta (LNB Group)
- Pune Stallions – Managed by actor and investor Suniel Shetty
The league has seen an explosive increase in participation, with player sign-ups breaking the 910,000 mark — an astonishing leap from 200,000 in the first season. This increase mirrors the rising interest in esports by India’s youth and gaming communities. The prize pool has also been greatly increased to ₹3.05 crore, making the tournament even more prestigious and competitive.
GEPL matches will be telecast live on JioHotstar and nationally on Star Sports, giving fans everywhere in the country access to all 34 matches scheduled between April 27 and May 2.
JetSynthesys CEO Rajan Navani had called GEPL a union of two cultural giants — cricket and gaming — with the intent to make esports a mainstream, professionally managed sport in India. He highlighted the league’s ability to define India’s digital sports story.
Sara Tendulkar explained her own relationship with cricket, saying that the league is a reflection of how sports are changing in the digital era, particularly for the younger generation. Prashant Prakash, Bengaluru Badgers co-owner, was optimistic about the league’s potential to develop India’s own esports heroes, similar to MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli in conventional cricket.
Far from being just a tournament, GEPL’s Season 2 is an affirmation of India’s digital revolution and illustrates the immense potential of esports as a formal, high-value, and commercially viable industry.
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