Rushindra Sinha Shares His Perspective on Importing Players

Rushindra Sinha, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Global Esports, recently weighed in on a statement by Malav “Rexdreams” Popat that sparked a debate in the Indian esports community with regards to importing foreign players. Sinha stated that he partially agrees with Rexdreams that importing players delivers short-term success, as their contracts are usually short. He added that importing players will make sense if it results in the direct growth of local talent. Lastly, he opined that the topic is not as simple as it seems; hence, he only partially agrees with Rexdreams.

Sinha states importing foreign players only makes sense if it results in the growth of local talent

Rexdreams, Global Esports’ former analyst, recently stated that it was “unfortunate” to see organizations prioritizing “imports” over “developing/finding talent in the region.” Several influential figures in the Indian esports industry, including Ganesh “SkRossi” Gangadhar of Global Esports, Siddhant “Sid” Joshi of S8UL Esports, Vinay “Hades” Rao of Orangutan Gaming, and Manoj “Sentinel” Kassyap of Velocity Gaming, shared their insights on the issue and why organizations may opt for foreign players instead of scouting local talent.

In a recent livestream, a viewer asked Sinha his views on Rexdreams’ statement. In response, Sinha stated that he both agrees and disagrees with Rexdreams’ opinion. He believed that Rexdreams has a limited perspective, and his understanding is based on what he has seen during his time at Global Esports.

Sinha noted that many teams, including Global Esports, had international players in games like Counter-Strike and Dota 2 in the past (2018-2019). The teams had a mix of three local talents and two imports. He also mentioned that Global Esports had brought in two Polish players for its Counter-Strike team, who were practicing and playing for the team from the Global Esports bootcamp, with Bhavin “HellrangeR” Kotwani as the in-game leader.

Sinha acknowledged that Rexdreams is right about the short-term success of organizations that focus on signing international players. “He is right that it works in the short term because you can ask any of these organizations that have signed international players what the duration of contracts is. It is usually six months, one year, or one-and-a-half years. I consider that short term; I think one year or two years is a very short term,” he said.

Sinha acknowledged that the approach of focusing on international players is not necessarily wrong for esports organizations. He explained that the primary focus for all teams currently is to qualify for Ascension and win in order to secure a slot in the franchise league. He added, “In that sense, yes, a hundred percent, do what you have to do to make your team win. Get your slot, then do whatever you want to.”

According to Sinha, importing foreign players only makes sense if it results in the growth of local talent. He mentioned that if Global Esports were competing in a domestic league and had the opportunity to import players, he would ensure that the two imports, at minimum, create 20 new athletes from India. “Then it’s worth it. Bring two imports for six months or a year, ensure they grow the region, grow the talent, and generate 20 new athletes from India. Sure, then it’s a win, then it makes sense,” he added.

“If you are just doing it to win, there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s your organization. We have done whatever we have done so far to get to where we are,” Sinha said. Following this, he emphasized the importance of survival for an esports organization, stating that if an organization cannot afford to meet basic expenses and provide the right facilities to its players, it will shut down regardless of its size or number of wins. 

Sinha concluded by saying that the topic is not as simple as it seems.