Inside GEPL Season 3: How JetSynthesys turned Real Cricket into India's fastest-growing
Season 3 of the Global e-Cricket Premier League wrapped up in Pune on Sunday, August 9, with eight franchises, up from six last year; a record ₹3.1 crore prize pool; and a broadcast deal that took the tournament to American and Canadian television for the…
Two seasons ago, GEPL was played in front of a single stadium's worth of fans. Now, it has exploded beyond the subcontinent, and I spent the weekend at the Jairaj Sports and Convention Centre in Pune talking to the people behind that virality —.
How Real Cricket went from mobile game to India’s fastest-growing sports property (GEPL)Real Cricket matches in the GEPL are not T20 or even T10 ties; they consist of five-over innings with five wickets per side. It’s short, it’s exciting, and there’s a real jeopardy.
What Happened
Importantly, the entire contest is wrapped up in under half an hour, and that timeframe is likely one of the major factors behind the boom in the viewership numbers. Traditional cricket asks for a massive time commitment.
Season 3 of the Global e-Cricket Premier League wrapped up in Pune on Sunday, August 9, with eight franchises, up from six last year; a record ₹3.1 crore prize pool; and a broadcast deal.
Teams spent ₹62.75 lakh of a combined ₹64 lakh purse, a 98% utilisation rate, and four of the five most expensive players switched franchises rather than being retained.
All-rounder Jetha Ram went to the Sara Tendulkar-owned Mumbai Grizzlies for ₹3.5 lakh, the highest fee in GEPL's three seasons.
Key Details
A single T20 innings takes nearly two hours, while Test matches span five full days, creating a natural barrier for casual viewers. GEPL has shifted the broadcast equation entirely.
For now, that remains wishful thinking — the International Olympic Committee's planned 2027 e-Games in Saudi Arabia stands voided after its partnership with the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee and the E-Sports World Cup Foundation.
But none of that is stopping him from dreaming.
Beyond that, he sees India winning e-sports medals at future Olympic Games, and being at the forefront of the global e-sports boom in the coming decades.
Why It Matters
Instead of competing with marathon sports coverage, it occupies a category closer to a sitcom episode — a viewer can watch a full match during a study break or lunch hour, enjoying a complete sporting narrative without derailing their daily routine. It's.
He wants GEPL to be uttered in the same breath as the IPL and the Premier League.
Right now, they’re not, but Lulla flagged a game-development complication specific to the format of the e-sport — specifically, the modelling and rendering of the in-game player avatars.
What Reports Say
Coverage of the story so far points to:
Continued reporting by Hindustan Times as more details emerge
