Sports
Sonu Nigam, Scout join as franchise owners for GEPL season 3
Scout also joins as franchise owner as GEPL season 3 lines up an eight-team, ₹3.1 crore showdown in Pune
PUNE: Bollywood’s golden voice is swapping recording studios for dugouts. JetSynthesys has unveiled Sonu Nigam as owner of the Kolkata Hawks in season 3 of the Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL), alongside gaming star Scout (Tanmay Singh), who takes charge of the Gujarat Wolves — a double signing that pushes the virtual-cricket league firmly into mainstream territory.
The expanded eight-team tournament, powered by Real Cricket™ — the world’s most downloaded mobile cricket simulation game, boasting over 400 million lifetime downloads — will run at the Jairaj Sports & Convention Centre in Pune from August 1 to 9, broadcast live on Star Sports and JioHotstar. A prize pool of Rs 3.1 crore sweetens the pitch.
Nigam and Scout join a roster already stacked with marquee names: Peyush Bansal at Delhi Sharks, Nikhil Kamath, Ankit Nagori and Prashanth Prakash at Bengaluru Badgers, Sara Tendulkar at Mumbai Grizzlies, Suniel Shetty at Pune Stallions, Gopal Srinivasan and partners at Chennai Falcons, and Amit Mehta at Hyderabad Rhinos.
Rajan Navani, chairman of JetSynthesys, called the additions proof that GEPL is widening its circle of believers, with Nigam and Scout reflecting how music and esports are “evolving into mainstream entertainment”. Nigam’s arrival marks the league’s first ownership stake from mainstream music and entertainment — a first that stretches GEPL’s pull well past its usual mix of investors and Bollywood royalty.
Nigam himself struck an earnest note, saying music and sport have always brought people together, and that GEPL felt like a natural extension of that spirit — with his focus on giving emerging talent a stage. Scout, raised in Gujarat and among Indian gaming’s most influential figures, said his ownership was about grassroots nurturing and proving esports is a genuine career, not a side hustle.
Jogesh Lulla, senior vice-president at JetSynthesys Sports, said the calibre of season 3’s owners showed how far the league’s footprint had travelled, with Nigam widening its reach into entertainment audiences and Scout lending gaming-world credibility.
Season 2 racked up 174 million impressions and 910,000 player interests. With a playback legend and a gaming icon now holding the reins, GEPL isn’t just adding star power — it’s betting the house that virtual cricket can go fully mainstream, one franchise at a time.
