Shelar has said his focus will be on expanding India’s esports ecosystem through better platforms, training, competitions and opportunities, with the national team set to travel to Japan for the Asian Games.
BY PC Bureau
The election of Maharashtra minister and veteran sports administrator Ashish Shelar as president of the Esports Games Federation (ESGF) has generated unusually wide interest across Bollywood and Indian sport.
On Thursday, Shelar called on super star Amitabh Bachchan to seek his blessings for the new assignment. In a post on X that night, Shelar wrote: “A pleasure to meet one of India’s most celebrated personalities, the iconic Amitabh Bachchan Ji, who conveyed his best wishes on my new responsibility as President of the Esports Games Federation.”
In another post the same day, he said he was “delighted to meet Kartik Sabherwal, Founder & CEO, Upthrust Esports, Aryan Bhasin, Founder & CEO, SocioHub Media and Anchita Omprakash, Festival Director, Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards and discuss Esports and Gaming, a rapidly growing space where Gen Z is not just the audience but the talent driving the ecosystem. Maharashtra has immense potential to lead this exciting ecosystem.”
Shelar is expected to soon call on Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to discuss the roadmap for the growth of esports in India.
When Shelar was unanimously elected president of the ESGF on August 28, congratulations did not remain confined to the federation or the political establishment. They spilled across Mumbai’s overlapping worlds of Bollywood, cricket, television, music, digital media and politics, appearing on X, Facebook and Instagram, and in several cases in Instagram Stories that disappeared after 24 hours.
Meeting the legendary Amitabh Bachchan Ji#AmitabhBachchan #ESGF #Maharashtra #AshishShelar pic.twitter.com/INilsyYRC2
— Adv. Ashish Shelar – ॲड. आशिष शेलार (@ShelarAshish) September 3, 2026
The E Sports Games Federation (ESGF) is a not-for-profit national governing body in India focused on promoting, regulating and developing esports and mind sports across the country. Originally established as the Skillhub Online Games Federation (SOGF), the organisation later rebranded as ESGF as part of its effort to build a transparent, structured and professional competitive gaming ecosystem in India.
The ESGF board elected Shelar at a meeting in New Delhi. Founder and then-acting president Nandan Jha and honorary chairperson Ashok Dhyanchand proposed his name, while Secretary General Gursharan Singh seconded it. Representatives of 22 states backed the appointment.
Shelar, the BJP MLA from Vandre West, is Maharashtra’s minister for Electronics, IT, Artificial Intelligence and Cultural Affairs. He is also a former president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, a former BCCI treasurer and a board member of the Asian Cricket Council.
That combination of politics, cricket administration, technology and a deep Mumbai network helps explain why his appointment generated a wider circle of greetings than a conventional sports-federation election.
Shelar has framed the new role around the sport rather than the title.
A pleasure to meet one of India’s most celebrated personalities, the iconic Amitabh Bachchan Ji, who conveyed his best wishes on my new responsibility as President of the Esports Games Federation.#AmitabhBachchan #ESGF #AshishShelar pic.twitter.com/3DeXbc5awi
— Adv. Ashish Shelar – ॲड. आशिष शेलार (@ShelarAshish) September 3, 2026
“Esports is developing rapidly in India and our youth possess immense talent,” he said. “Around 600 million people in our country are engaged with esports.”
He also pointed to India’s upcoming international commitments, saying the national esports team would travel to Japan in September for the Asian Games.
“Our endeavour will be to provide players with better platforms, training, competitions and opportunities for growth,” he said.
The most visible film-industry endorsement on a public timeline came from actor Ajay Devgn. On August 28, Devgn posted on X: “Congratulations to Shri @ShelarAshish Ji on being elected President of the @ESGFederation. A significant responsibility at an exciting time for the sport. Wishing you the very best as you take Indian esports forward and help shape its journey ahead.”
Devgn already sits at the intersection of entertainment and sport. His business interests include the visual-effects space, and he is associated with the Ahmedabad Lions in the Indian Street Premier League, the tennis-ball T10 competition in which Shelar has been involved.
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The wider Bollywood greeting was more visible on Instagram Stories. Salman Khan, Malaika Arora, Kareena Kapoor Khan and singer Adnan Sami were among those who shared congratulatory messages after the election.
The names themselves are revealing. Shelar’s political and cricket networks have long overlapped with Mumbai’s entertainment industry. He has met Salman Khan and members of the Khan family on several occasions. Shah Rukh Khan attended a dinner following Shelar’s 2024 Assembly election victory. Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan are part of the same cricket-entertainment ecosystem surrounding the ISPL.
Television and digital personalities also joined in, with actors Karanvir Bohra and Aamir Ali and Mumbai-based digital creator Rohit Saraiya among those circulating congratulatory messages.
Philanthropist and BJP spokesperson Asif Bhamla posted on Instagram, addressing Shelar as “My Dearest” and wishing him success in taking Indian esports forward.
Cricket: Suryakumar Yadav’s Facebook Post
The cricket greeting that travelled most widely was notable for where it appeared: Facebook rather than X.
A post circulating under Suryakumar Yadav’s name on August 28, accompanied by a photograph of the India batter with Shelar, carried the message: “India’s esports story enters a new chapter. Ashish Shelar has been elected President of the E Sports Games Federation. With India’s esports community growing rapidly, his leadership will focus on creating better platforms, training, competitions and opportunities for the country’s talented players. The game is changing. India is ready.”
The same wording also appeared on Instagram accounts using the familiar SKY branding. There was, however, no matching original post on Yadav’s official X account.
That distinction matters because the Facebook and Instagram circulation gave the message a different reach from the more easily archived political and sports-administration posts.
From the cricket-administration side, Suraj Samat, an MCA Apex Council member and ISPL league commissioner, also congratulated Shelar on Instagram, describing the appointment as the beginning of a phase of structured growth for Indian esports.
Again, the Mumbai connection is difficult to miss. Shelar, Samat and several figures from the entertainment world operate within overlapping cricket and sports-business circles.
