Player-Creators Cultivate New Sports Fandoms in India
India's digital landscape is witnessing a fascinating shift. A growing cohort of athletes turned content creators is actively building passionate communities for sports beyond cricket. They leverage platforms like YouTube and Instagram to draw attention to basketball, Formula 1, chess, running, and volleyball.
From the Court to the Camera
Dhruv Barman's journey illustrates this trend perfectly. After studying kinesiology in Canada, he returned to India and became the nation's top-ranked player in FIBA's 3x3 basketball. He then started sharing match videos online. Now, with over 43,000 Instagram followers, Barman serves as a creator-coach.
"Many basketball lovers come from humble backgrounds and lack proper training," Barman explained. "There also aren't many qualified coaches in the country. So, when I teach teenagers techniques I've mastered, I add value to their lives and make the sport popular." He represents the NBA's India pick for NBA Legends in Abu Dhabi.
Filling the Media Gap
Sagar Shah identified a similar opportunity in chess. A chartered accountant and former international master, he founded ChessBase India a decade ago. He noticed minimal mainstream media coverage for the sport.
"When I played tournaments, I liked highlighting my experiences through blogs," Shah said. "But as an industry, there was hardly any coverage around chess. Players didn't frequently post pictures or give interviews."
He began documenting player journeys, including those of world champion Gukesh Dommaraju and prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. Today, ChessBase India boasts 2.89 million YouTube subscribers and 666,000 Instagram followers. Shah credits stand-up comics streaming matches during COVID-19 and Netflix's The Queen's Gambit for creating a buzz, alongside former champion Viswanathan Anand's efforts.
Brands Take Notice
This creator-driven movement is pulling brands and marketers into new sporting arenas. Cricket currently dominates India's sports revenue, generating an estimated 80-85%. However, the broader sports events market, valued at $19 billion, is projected to reach $40 billion by 2030.
Prasanth Shanthakumaran, partner and head of sports at KPMG India, noted the change. "India remains cricket-dominated," he said. "But as we advance, securing hosting rights for events like the 2030 Commonwealth Games and bidding for the 2036 Olympics, we're propagating other sports through diverse channels, including social media and content creation."
Joy Bhattacharjya, CEO of the Prime Volleyball League (PVL), attributed over 1.1 billion views for its fourth season to social media and creator collaborations. "Social media has fundamentally transformed how fans engage with and emotionally connect to sport today," he stated.
Monetizing Passion
For creators, brand partnerships provide crucial income. Basketball creator Sanjana Ramesh, with 24,500 Instagram followers, shared her experience. "Initially, there was hesitation around how the audience would react when I started posting basketball content in 2023," she said. "It became easier when brands started coming in 2024 and 2025. I started promoting health and fitness brands." She highlighted that promotional content deals can start from around ₹15,000 and reach much higher figures based on follower count and engagement.
Facing Competition and Driving Growth
Despite their niche focus, these creators face intense competition from influencers with larger followings. Brands often seek both dedicated audiences and mass reach.
Aditya Dube, an F1 and motorsports content creator with 48,700 Instagram followers, averages 3-4 brand deals monthly, each upwards of ₹40,000. "Even if brands partner with us for our dedicated sport audience, they also engage influencers with mass following for more visibility," he explained. Dube credited Netflix's F1 series, the rise of go-karting, and creators for boosting motorsports' popularity in India.
This growth attracts major brands. PepsiCo's Sting Energy, for instance, partnered with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team in a unique digital campaign, which creators amplified on social media.
According to Yannick Colaco, co-founder of FanCode, the Indian F1 fan base grew 32% between 2024 and 2026, reaching over 79 million. "On our platform, more than 21 million fans engaged with it, an 18% increase year-on-year," he said. Colaco sees similar momentum in tennis, padel, and pickleball, driven by social-first discovery.
"The most important thing for us is relevance," Colaco emphasized. "Whether a creator has 10k followers or 100k is less important than how connected they are to fans or potential fans of the sport. The core is to put sport at the centre of what we do."
Institutional Support and Future Vision
Sports organizations are actively engaging with this creator ecosystem. Murtuza Madraswala, head of marketing, content & communications at NBA India, stated they work extensively with creators who have a genuine affinity for basketball and youth culture. "They can translate the game into local languages, formats and cultural contexts in a way that feels natural and credible," he said. These partnerships aim to boost visibility for initiatives like the ACG Jr. under-14 tournament.
Looking ahead, Dhruv Barman is optimistic. He expects growing interest in basketball to yield results soon and aims to double his community in 2026. "With the upcoming India Basketball League set for global telecast, I foresee creators worldwide reacting to India's rising pro basketball scene," Barman predicted. "In the next 2-3 years, Indian basketball will make waves on the global stage."
This grassroots movement, powered by passionate player-creators, is steadily diversifying India's sports culture. They are not just playing the games but are actively shaping their narratives and commercial futures, one post at a time.
