India National Cricket Team players, including the stalwarts Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma, are set to suffer a massive financial blow after the ban was imposed on the real-money online games.

With the fantasy sports companies shutting down their real money games, the Indian cricketers are likely to lose between INR 150-200 crore a year from these terminated contracts, as per a report in Cricbuzz.

The Indian government recently passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which bans all forms of online money games, including fantasy sports platforms.

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The new law was passed in both houses of Parliament and received presidential assent in August 2025. This new bill prohibits users from participating in any online games where money is deposited with the expectation of potential winnings, and any platforms violating these rules could face severe penalties, including up to three years in jail and fines up to ₹1 crore.

As this law came into effect, the real-money gaming platforms like Dream11 have been forced to shut down their paid contests. Dream11, which was valued at approximately $8 billion USD, has also pulled out as the title sponsor of the Indian cricket team, ending their ₹358-crore, three-year jersey sponsorship deal.

Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, and other Indian stars suffer a massive blow

The fantasy sports and online gaming companies like Dream 11, My11 Circle, MPL, and Winzo had sponsored many Indian cricketers and spent heavily on advertising and endorsements.

Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Hardik Pandya were associated with Dream11, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rinku Singh, and Sourav Ganguly endorsed My11 Circle.

Virat Kohli was with MPL, and MS Dhoni had a deal with Winzo. However, with the fresh ban imposed, cricketers will be hit financially and lose their sponsorship deals will.

Kohli had a contract worth INR 10-12 crore annually, while Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni had signed INR 6-7 crore contracts. The less popular cricketers had deals of around INR 1 crore, and collectively, Indian cricketers are likely to lose between INR 150-200 crore a year.

The marquee cricketers, however, have a diversified portfolio and will not be as affected as some not-so-popular cricketers who relied heavily on fantasy platforms as sponsors.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has also been affected as it will lose My11 Circle as an associate sponsor, which was contributing Rs 125 crore a year.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) were associated with the online gaming platforms, and they will lose between INR 10-20 crore a year.

Meanwhile, the Industry experts said that the advertising industry will lose close to INR 8,000-10,000 crore a year after the government’s action.

“In terms of overall advertising spends, these gaming companies contribute around 7-8 percent of the market. Nearly 80 percent of that will vanish, since real money gaming accounts for 75-80 percent of the overall gaming market. So that is one big impact. Roughly 7-8 percent of total ad spends and about 15-20 percent of digital ad spends will also disappear, because their share in digital advertising is higher,” said Karan Taurani, executive vice-president, Elara Capital, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Also Read: Watch: 13 runs off 1 ball! Sanju Samson goes ballistic in KCL, aims to deny Shubman Gill spot in Asia Cup XI

Star batsman Shreyas Iyer has been named as the new ODI captain of the India National Cricket Team by the former cricketer Manoj Tiwary.

Manoj Tiwary said that Shreyas Iyer is the perfect candidate to succeed Rohit Sharma and took a dig at the India head coach Gautam Gambhir for denying the credit that the star batter deserved after steering the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to IPL 2024 triumph.

Shreyas Iyer has also won a trophy for Mumbai – Manoj Tiwary

The modern-day legend Rohit Sharma is 38, and he is not getting any younger. He is currently active in international cricket only as an ODI player, having retired from T20I cricket in 2024 and Test cricket in 2025.

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He has time and again expressed his desire to get his hands on the ICC ODI World Cup title, and the next such tournament is scheduled to be held in 2027.

However, by that time, Rohit will be 40, and multiple reports have claimed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the team management aren’t keeping him in the plans for the next World Cup.

Also, reports claimed that the upcoming ODI series in Australia could be the last for Rohit Sharma, and Iyer could pip vice-captain Shubman Gill to become the new ODI skipper. However, the BCCI secretary denied the reports of Shreyas Iyer being considered for the role.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Crictracker, Manoj Tiwary backed Iyer to replace Rohit Sharma at the helm in ODI cricket. He said:

“After Rohit Sharma, obviously, I would say Shreyas Iyer, because the way he has led, wherever he has led in franchise cricket, I have not seen him in first-class cricket, but he has also won a trophy for Mumbai in domestic cricket as well.”

I felt he should also have got recognition – Manoj Tiwary

The former India batter added that Iyer has evolved as a captain over the years, and he leads from the front, alongside being a tactical genius. He stated:

“But when I was doing commentary, I observed the evolution of Shreyas Iyer as a captain. He is one of those who lead from the front, he scores a lot of runs, and he makes great decisions on the field, which is a must for a good captain. He has done that successfully, as we saw during his KKR tenure.”

Manoj Tiwary further stated that Gautam Gambhir‘s PR machinery blocked the credit that Shreyas Iyer deserved after leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to IPL 2024 triumph. He felt that the narrative was created that Gautam Gambhir, who was the team’s mentor, was solely responsible for KKR’s win, and the rest of the support staff and the skipper were denied credit.

“In 2024, KKR emerged as champions under his captaincy, but he didn’t get the credit he deserved. The PR machinery worked in such a way that the credit was given to only one individual in the team. I felt he should also have got recognition, along with Chandrakant Pandit and Bharat Arun. They were the supporting staff, while he was the leader making the calls on the field,” Tiwary added.

So there will be a fight – Manoj Tiwary

In the end, Tiwary stated that Gautam Gambhir likes Gill more than Iyer and there will be a fight between the two players for India captaincy.

“I feel Shreyas Iyer will eventually lead Team India, and he will lead for a long period of time. But at the same time, he will be fighting this captaincy battle with Shubman Gill because the current coach, Gautam Gambhir, likes Shubman Gill more than Shreyas Iyer. So there will be a fight. But let’s see what the future unfolds for all of us,” he said.

Also Read: Gautam Gambhir’s ‘Bronco Test’ plot aimed at throwing Rohit Sharma out of Team India!!

Team India captain Suryakumar Yadav has opened up about his recovery from a sports hernia ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, set to begin on September 9 in the UAE. Surya revealed that the injury was detected towards the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, where he played for the Mumbai Indians (MI).

Suryakumar Yadav enjoyed his best IPL season in 2025 with the Mumbai Indians. The right-handed batter finished as the second-highest run-getter in the tournament. Following the tournament, he underwent surgery for a sports hernia. Suryakumar will lead the national team in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025.

I’m Feeling Good Right Now – Suryakumar Yadav

In a video shared by the BCCI, Suryakumar Yadav stated that he had faced a similar issue last year. The Indian T20I captain thanked the medical staff for their guidance and showcased his return to full fitness through training and batting sessions.

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“I’m feeling good right now. It’s been five to six weeks. Good process, good routines for the last six weeks and fingers crossed. Feeling really well. It [the sports hernia injury] actually got diagnosed close to the end of IPL,” said Suryakumar.

“I felt it because I had a similar kind of injury last year as well and that’s how I got to know. So few checklists were there. I tried those things and then I realized that it’s time to go and do a small MRI,” he added.

The Most Important Thing for Me Is… – Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav stated that he planned his recovery step by step and added that the coaches and physios made workouts to his body’s needs. The 34-year-old will captain India for the first time in a major tournament.

“When I did [the scans], [the injury] was very clear in that. I did it post IPL, went to Germany. And it went really well how it went last year. And I knew how the recovery is going to be step by step. So I was prepared for everything. So we took one week at a time. And we are here and I am feeling good,” said Suryakumar.

“I think the most important thing for me is when you come here at COE or when I was here at NCA last year as well, they understood how my body reacts to certain situations. So all the strength and conditioning coach and the physios understood how his body works and accordingly they planned all the workouts.”

“It was all instant. As soon as I used to hit the gym and I came here, they would plan the sessions. And that’s how we took one week at a time and slowly but steadily we are here,” he added.

From injury ➡️ recovery 💪

Surya Kumar Yadav, who was at the BCCI CoE for the past few weeks, emphasises the importance of structured rehabilitation and dedicated support 👍 👍

He shares the challenges he faced, the systematic approach he followed, and the guidance he received… pic.twitter.com/glyE7ZR5Qp

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 26, 2025

Suryakumar Yadav Last Seen in Action in the T20 Mumbai League

Suryakumar Yadav was last seen in action in the T20 Mumbai League for Triumph Knights MNE. His team endured a disappointing campaign and failed to make the knockouts.

During IPL 2025, Yadav scored 717 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 167.71 and an average above 65, including five fifties with a top score of 73*. He became the first MI batter to cross 700 runs in a single season, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing tally of 618 from 2010.

The right-handed batter crossed 25 in every outing, finishing just behind Gujarat Titans’ Sai Sudharsan in the Orange Cap race. However, MI lost to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 2. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) went on to lift their maiden title under Rajat Patidar’s captaincy.

Suryakumar will next lead India in the Asia Cup 2025, which begins on September 9 in the UAE. India will open their campaign against the hosts on September 10, while the final is scheduled to take place on September 28.

Also read: Mohammed Siraj buries alive Gautam Gambhir’s agenda of pushing Shubman Gill as captain