With every boundary hit on the IPL ground, another parallel score ratchets up off the field. Indian cricketers have long been splashed on billboards as brand ambassadors, but today they are increasingly showing up on startup cap tables, backing everything from gaming and smart-home technology to medical tourism and sports-tech platforms.
From Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni to Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah, the country’s biggest cricketing names are steadily building their investor portfolios alongside their sporting career. According to market intelligence platform Tracxn, funding for cricketer-backed startups peaked at $267.1 million in 2021, with cumulative funding since crossing $338.5 million.
Beyond just visibility, the sport stars are sought after for factors such as trust, strategic access and long-term association with brands, according to startup founders and investors.
So you have medical tourism startup The Medical Travel Company (TMTC), which counts English cricketers Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer among its backers, alongside India’s KL Rahul. The company, which recently raised $4.5 million in seed funding, works with hospital chains such as Apollo, Max Healthcare, Medanta and Fortis to streamline medical travel between the UK and India.
