Cricketers who own sports teams

Inception is one of the greatest movies ever made. The plot is one hell of an intriguing one which focuses on multiple layers of dreams or, in other words, dream(s) within a dream. Dreams in itself are a bit of a debatable phenomenon, so layered dreaming is even more interesting.So when sportsmen own sports team(s), it feels like inception--sportsperson owner of a sports team. The thing with a sportsperson owning a sports team is that they are better equipped to do so as they, being one with sports, know what is best for the team in a sporting sense.There are many sportspeople in the world that own sports team. Our article will be cornered to only cricketers owning sports team and here are 10 cricketers who own a team in the world of sports...

#1 Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar (C) is one of the co-owners of the Kerala franchise in the ISL

We start off with the one who many people see as a God. If cricket is your religion, then Sachin is almost certainly your God--and it doesn't really suit a Lord to not own a team.

But the fact of the matter is that he does. Once India initiated their own football version of the IPL, named the Indian Super League, many cricketers were rumoured to buy some teams and Sachin Tendulkar was one among them.

In the end, he did buy a team as he became the owner of the Kerala franchise and named it Kerala Blasters. The man certainly seems to love the term 'blasters' and it isn't surprising given that he was the “Master Blaster” during his best years as a cricketer.

#2 Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly celebrates Atletico de Kolkata's victory in the final of ISL I

Sachin and Sourav were great friends on the pitch and that friendship was taken to the field of football-team ownership the Prince of Calcutta bought the franchise of his home city, Atletico de Kolkata.

One of the best parts about the ISL is foreign integration, buying players who were once stars in the game of football. However, what sets Ganguly's team even further apart is the fact that he co-owns with La Liga giants, Atletico Madrid.

Having an affiliation with an active European giant could do wonders for the country's football fraternity and given that Dada is a visionary--his history as the captain of the Indian cricket team being a testament to that claim--he is the right man to spearhead such an advancement.

#3 MS Dhoni

The Indian limited-overs captain has ownership in multiple sports

When MS Dhoni came into the scene, he made it absolutely clear that he loves it when things are blazing. And it showed. His long and silky hair coupled with a fiery batting style made him the sweetheart of many a hearts.

However, he also loved another thing: bikes.

His love for bikes became further apparent when he founded MSD R-N Racin Team, later renamed to Mahi Racing Team India, in the FIM Supersport World Championship. Dhoni is also a part-owner of the ISL Chennayin FC team and is the owner of Ranchi franchise in the Indian Hockey League named Ranchi Rays.

#4 Virat Kohli

Kohli has stakes in ISL team, FC Goa and IPTL team, UAE Royals

The current face of the Indian cricket team is also a proud owner of a sports team. After the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli became the man to carry India like his predecessor did for a very long time.

And since the Little Master bought a team in the ISL, it is only fair and logical that Virat Kohli did so too. He bought and became the proud co-owner of the Goa franchise of the ISL named FC Goa and showed his intelligence by assigning Brazilian legend Zico as the coach of he team.

Virat Kohli also bought stakes of the UAE Royals franchise in the Premier Tennis League, a team that has Roger Federer as one of its players.

#5 Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina is one of the owners of hockey team, Uttar Pradesh Wizards

Along with MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina is one of the longest serving players of the Indian cricket team in the ODIs and that is thanks to his consistent nature and calm head that scores a lot of quick runs in the death overs.

But cricket isn’t the only sport that he loves and is definitely not the only one that earns him money as the left-handed batsman is one of the co-owners in the Indian Hockey League as can proudly call himself the owner Uttar Pradesh Wizards.

#6 Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar (L) is the co-owner of IBL team, Mumbai Masters

The Grand Master was regarded as the greatest Indian batsman ever before Sachin Tendulkar came to the scene. In Test, he was unparalleled in his time and he became the epitome of a calm head.

And to be the owner of a sports team needs exactly that since it is one hell of a roller coaster ride.

The former Indian captain co-owns a team in the Indian Badminton League that goes by the name of Mumbai Masters. In fact, his team boasted one of the best and most renowned faces in the sport, Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei, in his team as a captain in 2013.

#7 Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Chanderpaul is one of the owners of a team playing in the Canadian Premier League

If someone compiled the list of the most underrated players in the history of cricket, Shivnarine Chanderpaul would definitely feature in it. The West Indian almost always stays out of the limelight and it is no different in this aspect as well.

The West Indian legend chose the Canadian Premier League for his business endeavours as he is one of the directors and one of the owners at the CPL. He is not the only one, though, as his compatriots Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin and Kieran Powell have also been enlisted as co-owners.