Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
Star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has made another investment with the Dubai-based businessman Adi Mishra, this time coming on board as a strategic investor in a proposed World Bowling League (WBL). The announcement comes close on the heels of the star batsman opting to retire from the Test format of cricket amid his form slipping with the bat at age 36.
Yet, the batsman with second-most centuries and the most successful Test captain for India is going strong in preparing for life after cricket with a change in his commercial agency last month and now investing in the WBL; he is the second popular name to do so after Los Angeles Dodgers baseball star Mookie Betts.
"The World Bowling League (WBL) is pleased to announce cricketing icon Virat Kohli as a strategic investor in the league, igniting a bold new chapter to elevate the sport of bowling," the league organisers said in a statement on Wednesday.
Kohli has also invested in another IP by Mishra's company League Sports Co., the E1 electric powerboat racing series, in which he has a franchise Team Blue Rising with many other former star players from sports such as football and tennis as fellow team owners. This UAE team for the E1 World Championship focuses on bringing the message of sustainability, innovation, technology and conservation in the world's first series of 'all-electric' race boats.
"I started bowling when I was 11 years old, spinning the ball by 12," the 36-year-old Kohli said in a statement issued by League Sports Co. (LSC), the organisers of WBL. "It is evident how popular the sport is while being under-appreciated as a business proposition. I'm thrilled to join the WBL as an investor and partner."
It wasn't clear if Kohli is picking up a franchise in the WBL or a shareholder in the overall league with no details on the schedule also from LSC. Apart from being the leading name in international cricket, Kohli is a social media phenomenon and the third-most followed athlete on Instagram behind footballers Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Kohli also has a stake in the Indian Super League football team FC Goa.
"When I discovered Virat is also a bowler, it was exciting to align with this new-age vision for the sport," said Mishra, the founder-CEO of LSC. "Every week, we uncover more about bowling's global depth and fascinating history – it's a sleeping giant we're ready to awaken."
Kohli is playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with his team, Royal Challengers Bangalore, while he is now going to focus only on one-day internationals for whatever is left in his career as an Indian player.
Late last year, Kohli made heads turn in the industry when he parted ways with Cornerstone, the celebrity and event management company headed by his longtime friend Bunty Sajdeh. Kohli has now joined hands with a new company, Sporting Beyond.
According to a report in Telecom Asia Sport, his brand value hasn't diminished. Despite retiring from two out of three formats, his central contract with the cricket board, worth 70 million rupees in the A grade, remains intact. He gets another INR 210 million for playing in the IPL.
According to that report, there are roughly INR 10 billion tied up as his investments or stakes in 15-odd companies, including the LSC's E1 series, some start-ups, and other recent brands such as Chisel Fitness and WROGN, among others.
