Being protagonists of the most popular sport in India, cricketers are well-marketed athletes. Over the years, a number of Indian cricketers have been the face of various brands.With the startup culture booming in the country, Indian cricketers are increasingly showing interest in new ventures, backing them by investing money in what they believe is a promising business enterprise.
Here are five current Indian cricketers who have invested in startups:
Yuvraj Singh
The 2011 World Cup winner started his own foundation,YouWeCan, after successfully combating a cancerous tumour in his left lung. Established last year, its motivation lies in spreading awareness about cancer and the effects of the deadly disease. A tributary of YouWeCan is YouWeCan Venture, an initiative that provides support to budding entrepreneurs. The startup was launched in association with Nishant Singhal, a former financial consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers(PwC), one of the biggest financial consulting companies in the world. Within a year, YouWeCan has managed to bring around 10 startups under its wing.
Virat Kohli
Known for being a fitness freak, Virat Kohli is associated with a number of fitness clubs and gyms. In 2015, he opened his own chain of gyms under the name of Chisel. The 27-year old recently joined hands with Stepathlon Lifestyle to start a venture called Stepathlon Kids, a startup that intends to tackle the fitness problems of kids.
Last year, Kohli became the investor and brand ambassador of Sports Convo, a tech-startup based in London. He also received support from Welsh footballer Gareth Bale for the venture last year.
He has also built an e-commerce startup brand, Wrogn, which he endorses on various social media sites. Kohli also does fan engagements via Fanbox, his private fan club.
Sachin Tendulkar
The batting maestro has been the face of a number of brands over the years. After his retirement in 2013, Sachin got associated with a number of business ventures, given that he had ample time away from a packed international schedule.
Apart from being its brand ambassador, he is also the key investor in Smartron, a new smartphone manufacturing company. It’s CEO, Mahesh Lingareddy, is also the co-founder of Soft Machines, a silicon start-up. He also has stakes in Musafir, Smaaash Entertainment, and Universal Collectabillia.
MS Dhoni
Dhoni’s tryst with startups first took place in 2012. Over the course of the next four years, Dhoni became part of a number of business ventures, most notably SportsFit World, a franchise that provides customised fitness and diet plans, and has a number of stores across India. The company plans to invest around Rs. 2000 crores by the next half a decade to open 200 centres across different parts of the world.
He also backs ‘Seven’, a footwear brand, that incidentally raked in $2.5 million in the first three months since its inception.
Robin Uthappa
Out of favour from the current Indian line-up, Uthappa has taken time out of his domestic schedule to invest money in startups. The recently married 30-year old has invested in HealthEmind, a company that focuses on mental and emotional problems, giving a platform for people to connect to psychologists and coaches.
He also backed iTiffin, a health food startup that was founded in 2013. Uthappa contributed about Rs. 1.5 crores to give the venture a push.
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