MS Dhoni becomes first cricketer to be the brand ambassador of a venture capital firm

Secured Venture Capital, an Australia-based venture capital company led by former Australian fast bowler Craig McDermott unveiled India’s Limited Overs format captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as its global brand ambassador at an event at The Grand in Delhi on Wednesday.

The Indian skipper will also be the face of the bowler’s private cricket and educational sports academy, Craig McDermott International Cricket Academy (CMICA) it was announced in the press conference. Also in attendance was Arun Pandey, Chairman of Rhiti Sports. Pandey, as the chairman of the brand that manages Dhoni, played a key role in engineering the deal.

Pandey revealed that his company was quite surprised by Craig McDermott’s proposal and the Indian skipper’s assent only came on the condition of getting associated with the bowler’s private cricket and educational sports academy as well.

Dhoni, who turned 35 this month, expressed his pleasure on the association. He said ”I’m pleased to support Craig’s educational sports academy. And since Craig is a sportsperson, I know he will give 200% to his new venture.

Secured Venture Capital is into funding seed and late stage technology entrepreneurs, Secured Venture Capital has investments in various companies across a broad range of industries including pharmaceuticals, financial investment platforms, bio-technical hardware, real estate, direct investments, environmentally sustainable innovations and Dairy fund.

The company focuses on opportunities that originate in Australia that can be expanded into established global markets and invested in diverse and balanced portfolios of venture capital opportunities.

The Indian skipper in association with the Australian’s Academy plans to develop a program which will give the students who travel to Australia under the educational sports category to be trained under the CMICA in Australia as well as an academy in India which will be run by Rhiti Sports Management and mentored by Dhoni.

Dhoni talked glowingly of the contribution of sports in one’s life and exhorted the parents to send their kids out to play more often. He said,”When we were growing up, we used to play a lot of sports outside. Though we did have a television then but we only had two channels to choose from, unlike today. These days parents are happy with children sitting at home as they feel they’re safer inside.

He added, "I think we were blessed that we were thrown out of the house as we could engage in more sporting activities. Over a period of time, it gave huge rewards as it helped me develop higher levels of concentration and kept me fresher. I could extract more out of lesser hours of studies thanks to some virtues I learned through sports. If you haven’t played a lot of sports in early life, your fitness starts dropping after 35.”

“Sports teaches one a lot about life and helps one develop virtues of discipline, hard work, accountability. It also teaches how to handle setbacks in life. That’s why I am happy to be associated with Craig’s academy as it is trying to bridge the gap between sports and education in a technology-driven society,“ he said. McDermott was pleased to have Dhoni on board for his venture and said he couldn’t think of a better person when it came to signing a brand ambassador for the company.