Team India has consistently impressed in Match Poker events and is fully focused on the World Championship. Winning the first Asian qualifier last year, finishing 4th in the 2020 Virtual Nations Cup, being crowned Asian Champions in 2019 in Taipei, and launching the world’s first pro Match Poker league have all been feathers in India’s cap but now the national team is looking for its first ever podium finish at a World Cup!

Here is the squad for the Indian team’s participation in North Macedonia at the 2021 Nations Cup Finals:

Name: Jagdeep Singh (C)

Age: 37

Profession: Poker Player

Bio: Has been part of the winning team in the national team in 3 out of the 4 completed seasons, captaining the team in two of them. Previously represented India at the 2017 Nations Cup in Oxford, where he won the ‘Deepstack Diamond’ for being the best performing player against the AI poker player ‘Deepstack’, then in Bangkok at the 2018 Asian Nations Pairs Challenge and most recently at the 2021 Nations Cup virtual qualifiers. He is excited to lead the national team in Gevgelija and is looking to grab this opportunity with both hands, while aiming to atleast bring home a podium finish for his country.

Name: Sajal Gupta

Age: 28

Profession: Self employed

Bio: I’ve been playing poker for more than 5 years, I have played all formats – MTT, Hold’em and PLO cash. Very interested to play a new format in Match Poker and make my debut for the national team.

Name: Pratibha Arya

Age: 28

Profession: Poker Player

Bio: Pratibha has been playing Match Poker since the launch of the Indian national league in 2017, being on the winning team in 3 out of the 4 seasons! She won ‘player of the season’ for her individual performance in season 2, and has been a consistently impressive player throughout. Pratibha will be making her 4th appearance for the national team in Macedonia and only has the world title on her mind!

Name: Amit Varma

Age: 48

Profession: Writer and Podcaster

Bio: Amit Varma is a writer and podcaster based in Mumbai. He has been a journalist for over two decades, and won the Bastiat prize for Journalism twice. He hosts the popular longform podcast, The Seen and the Unseen. He is retired from playing poker professionally, but was tempted to try Match Poker because of his love of optimising for new formats.

Name: Gaurav Kalra

Age: 40

Profession: Tech geek

Bio: An integral part of the dominant Haryana Hawks in the Indian national league, Gaurav has really embraced the uniqueness of the Match Poker concept and its team element. ‘Match Poker is making Texas Hold’em Poker a team sport with strategy spanning across a team rather than an individual, a very exciting concept.’

Name: Mukul Chadda

Age: 48

Profession: Actor

Bio: Mukul Chadda began his working career in Investment Banking at the erstwhile Lehman Brothers in New York, writing research reports on US Agency Debt securities. His current vocation is as an actor in Mumbai, best known for playing the lead role of Jagdeep Chaddha (the Michael Scott/David Brent equivalent) in the Indian edition of international show The Office. He also does Film, Stage & Improv, and Storytelling.

Somewhere between these two careers, he combined his investment & acting skills to focus seriously on poker, playing it semi-professionally for a few years. In 2011, he won the IPS (Indian Poker Series) Player of the Year title for his consistent finishes in their tournaments in Goa.

Name: Loveleen Singh

Age: 31

Profession: Poker Player

Bio: Loveleen will be making his Team India debut at the 2021 World Championships in Macedonia. He has been representing the Delhi Aces in the Indian national league and proven himself over the past 2 seasons. He will be looking to cement his spot in the national team and make his debut a very memorable one.