CRICKET
Dhoni, Pandya, Bumrah and other stars invest in ‘eCricket’ gaming app
M.S. Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, along with Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Tilak Varma, and Sai Sudharsan, have come on board as investors in ‘eCricket’, a AAA title from India with global ambitions, slated for release on mobile in 2026.
With cricket commanding a global audience estimated to be over 2.5 billion, LightFury—the publisher of eCricket—aims to address a significant gap in the sports gaming category by delivering a technically advanced, competitive, and live-service-driven cricket gaming franchise from India.
The 100-strong studio combines creative vision with technical innovation to create globally competitive games.
“I’ve seen a lot of cricket games over the years, and there’s always been something missing. When LightFury showed me what they were working on, I felt they were trying to close that gap. It’s a big undertaking, building something like this out of India for a global audience,” Dhoni was quoted in a release.
Founded in 2024 by 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. The leadership team has worked on more than 40 AAA titles.
Hardik Pandya said, “Cricket is pressure, skill, and entertainment all at once. Fans want to feel that energy. What excites me about eCricket is that it is not trying to make cricket smaller for gaming. It is trying to make gaming rise to the scale of cricket.”
Earlier this year, LightFury Games also announced securing a global player roster licence of over 600 professional cricketers, featuring stars like Chris Gayle, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Kane Williamson, Pat Cummins, Jos Buttler, Travis Head, and Andre Russell—marking one of the largest rosters in cricket gaming.
– PTI
GOLF
Shubhankar and Yuvraj have slow starts in China
Indian golfers Shubhankar Sharma and Yuvraj Sandhu endured slow starts at the Volvo China Open in Shanghai, finishing T-48 and 153rd respectively after the opening round.
Sharma, who won on his home tour in India a week earlier, carded 1-under 70 to be placed at T-48 while Sandhu carded 9-over 80 to be placed 153rd on the standings.
– PTI
Akshay Sharma wins DP World Players Championship
Akshay Sharma in action.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Akshay Sharma in action.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Akshay Sharma carded an error-free eight-under 64 to emerge victorious at the DP World Players Championship at the Classic Golf & Country Club in Nuh, Haryana.
The 35-year-old golfer (70-65-70-64) clinched the title by a slender one-shot margin at 19-under 269, and with it rose to fifth on the 2026 PGTI Order of Merit. It marked his first title in over five years, his last win coming at Panchkula Golf Club in November 2020, capping a period of consistent performances.
Dhruv Sheoran (69-66-66-69) finished runner-up at 18-under 270 after starting the final round with a three-shot advantage. Jamal Hossain (67-70-68-69) finished third at 14-under 274 after carding a 69 on day four.
– Team Sportstar
Bhullar leads IGPL trio into weekend rounds
Gaganjeet Bhullar, a 11-time winner on the Asian Tour and a four-time winner on the AM Green IGPL, put himself in contention for his maiden International Series title as he added 3-under 68 to his first round 67 and moved up to tied-third place.
Only two other Indians, both of who are Bhullar’s colleagues on the AM Green IGPL Tour, made the cut with Pukhraj Gill (71-70) in T-38 and Karandeep Kochhar (71-71).
The remaining eight players, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Shaurya Bhattacharya, Rashid Khan, Shiv Kapur, Sachin Baisoya, SSP Chawrasia and Shubham Jaglan missed the cut and Jeev Milkha Singh retired due to injury.
– Team Sportstar
SQUASH
Abhay Singh enters maiden PSA Gold-level quarters in Zurich
India’s Abhay Singh stunned Egyptian world No 13 Aly Abou Eleinen to enter his maiden PSA Gold-level event quarterfinals at the Grasshopper Cup squash in Zurich.
World No 24 Abhay trailed 5-8 in the opening game before recovering to beat the seventh seed 12-10, 11-9 in the second round.
Singh had beaten Eleinen earlier this month at the El Gouna Open in Egypt.
“I stuck to my game plan. Still a few things I can work on. We will go back to the drawing board tonight,” said Singh, who will meet Egyptian world No 4 Karim Gawad next.
In the opening round, Singh beat Swiss David Bernet 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, while compatriot Ramit Tandon lost to Egypt’s Fares Dessouky 6-11, 9-11.
– Team Sportstar
ICE HOCKEY
India U-18 ice hockey team set to compete in Asia Cup in Bishkek
The Gurtej Singh Bhatti-led Indian ice hockey team will compete in the Under-18 Asia Cup in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan from April 27 to May 3, the national federation announced.
Apart from India, host Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Indonesia and Macau, China will compete in the tournament.
Devansh Sharma and Iftiqar Hussain will be India’s alternate captains.
In 2025, the Indian women’s team had won a bronze medal at the IIHF Women’s Asia Cup in Al Ain, UAE, securing the country’s first international medal in the sport.
The men’s team had earlier claimed silver at the 2017 IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia Division I, and more recently represented India at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China.
– PTI
SWIMMING
Thane swimmers Vanshika, Swaraj complete open water swim in Arabian Sea
Young swimmers Vanshika Girish Iyer (14) and Swaraj Sneha Gaurav Phadnis (12) from Thane have completed an open water swim challenge in the Arabian Sea from the the Atal Setu in Navi Mumbai to the Pirwadi Beach in Raigad.
The duo began their swim at 3:10am and completed the distance of 21 kilometres in challenging sea conditions marked by strong currents and shifting tides.
While Vanshika completed her swim in 5 hours and 14 minutes, Swaraj took 4 hours and 57 minutes to cover the distance, according to a release.
Their attempt has been certified by the Maharashtra State Amateur Aquatic Association as they became the first female and male swimmers to complete the swim on this route.
Vanshika is a student of the New Horizon International School Rodas while Swaraj studies at the Sulochnadevi Singhania School.
The two swimmers had trained under the guidance of former international swimmer and the winner of the Arjuna Award as well as the Shiv Chhatrapati Award, Arti Pradhan and Narendra Pawar, who is a STA International certified coach associated with Khelo India 2026.
– PTI
Published on Apr 24, 2026
