Former BharatPe CEO Ashneer Grover launches fantasy cricket platform

Former BharatPe CEO Ashneer Grover launches fantasy cricket platform

Ashneer Grover, the co-founder and former CEO of fintech start-up BharatPe, has announced his next venture, CrickPe, a fantasy cricket platform. He shared the news using his Twitter handle.

"Biggest revolution in cricket since (the) Indian Premier League (IPL)—the only fantasy game paying cricketers for performance!" Grover tweeted. Where you win —- cricketer wins -— cricket wins!" As per information on CrickPe's website, it is an app allowing users to play cricket online. It facilitates the creation of a virtual team of the best in-form real players, who join the contests and earn points based on their actual game performance.

Users will earn more points depending on how well the players in their teams perform in a live match. In doing so, CrickPe is banking on the popularity of fantasy cricket in the country.

CrickPe intends to limit its workforce to 50 people, according to Financial Express (FE). The company will follow a flat hierarchy where nobody will have set designations.

The development came about a year after Grover and his wife, Madhuri Jain, incorporated their firm, Third Unicorn. The name 'Third Unicorn' came into being after Grover had earlier helped two companies scale their operations. Grover held key positions in Blinkit (formerly Grofers) and BharatPe. He played a pivotal role in turning them into unicorns. In other words, start-ups valued at or over $1 billion.

Earlier, BharatPe accused Ashneer Grover of irregularities in financial transactions, after which he was made to resign. These transactions were allegedly made to Grover's relatives, including his wife Madhuri Jain's brother, Shwetank Jain. In 2021, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) conducted a search operation at the company's head office and found that around Rs 51 crore was paid to 30 non-existent vendors.