Cricket Unplugged: Drishti Bagla on Humanizing Sports Through Storytelling
Cricket in India is more than a sport; it's a religion. Yet, most media coverage focuses solely on match scores and player statistics, often missing the rich tapestry of human stories behind the game. Drishti Bagla, the Founder of Cricket Unplugged, is filling this gap. With a background in commerce and a transformative experience at the Young India Fellowship, Drishti is building a platform that brings unheard stories and unique facts to the forefront of the cricketing conversation.
The 'Content' Opportunity in Sports
For many, sports entrepreneurship means building equipment or managing athletes. For Drishti, it meant storytelling. "Sports has always been my passion, but I wanted to do something of my own rather than taking a job with an established company," she explains. She identified that while everyone was reporting news, few were focusing on the "unheard stories" in a format suited for the modern digital consumer.
Cricket Unplugged, launched in June 2025, utilizes platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram to deliver "crisp" stories. Each post is meticulously researched and kept under 200 words, paired with high-quality graphical representations. "A story itself does not attract the entire audience; the graphical representation is just as important as the quality of the content," Drishti notes.
The 'Leap of Faith' and Early Traction
Leaving a corporate role at KPMG India wasn't the traditional path, but Drishti's experience at the Young India Fellowship (Ashoka University) changed her mindset. She decided to treat Cricket Unplugged as her "passion project" first, focusing on quality over immediate monetization. The result? Within just 50 days, the initiative grew from a solo effort to a team of seven members, all working pro bono because they believed in the mission.
The Cricket Unplugged Approach
- Short & Crisp: Stories capped at 200 words for maximum impact and readability.
- Visual Storytelling: Mandatory custom graphics for every piece of content.
- Platform Synergy: Leveraging LinkedIn for professional reach and Instagram for fan engagement.
- Unheard Narratives: Focusing on historic matches and little-known facts rather than just live scores.
Bootstrapping a Content Empire
Content entrepreneurship often requires lower initial capital compared to tech startups, but the competition for attention is much higher. Drishti managed her initial expenses using personal savings, focusing primarily on digital marketing to grow her foundation. "My current aim for the next few months is to build a loyal fanbase," she says. "In content, you need that loyalty before you can take the next step into monetization."
The Social Media Entrepreneur's Journey
- The Research Phase: Spend time strategizing the format and content type before going live.
- The Platform Choice: Choose platforms where your target audience lives (LinkedIn for stories, Instagram for visuals).
- Community Building: Focus on foundation and loyalty over raw follower counts.
- Feedback Loop: Analyze what people like and adapt your content strategy weekly.
Monetizing Passion: The Road Ahead
While the team currently works out of passion, Drishti has a clear vision for the future. She identifies two main avenues for content monetization: **Influencer Marketing** and **Website Advertising**. By establishing a respectable number of followers, brands will naturally seek promotion. Furthermore, a dedicated website can generate revenue through Google Ads as traffic increases.
Early Milestones
- Team Growth: Expanded from 1 to 7 members in less than two months.
- Organic Reach: Successfully leveraged LinkedIn—a platform typically ignored for sports content—to gain unique traction.
- Pandemic Resilience: Used the halt of live cricket during COVID-19 to focus on historic storytelling, which saw a positive receptive response.
Final Message: Freedom and Responsibility
For Drishti, the biggest reward of entrepreneurship is freedom—the liberty to experiment and make changes without waiting for corporate approval. She encourages aspiring founders to be "all-rounders" in every department, from HR to finance.
Her advice to the next generation of Indian founders: "Don't wait for the opportunity to come to you; take it. Know your passion, ensure you are good at it, and have the courage to take the first step. The question 'what if I fail' is the biggest hurdle; once you move past it, the work becomes a joy."