Sachin Tendulkar Partners Former Swiggy Instamart Executive Karthik Gurumurthy To Float Sports Brand

Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has reportedly teamed up with former Swiggy Instamart head Karthik Gurumurthy to launch a sports athleisure brand.

As per ET’s report, former Swiggy executive Karan Arora will also join as the third cofounder.

A holding company for the venture has already been established, with early stage venture fund Whiteboard Capital and Tendulkar will be playing key roles in incubating the startup, the report added.

It further said that filings show Tendulkar and Whiteboard Capital are currently on the board of directors of the holding firm named SRT10 Athleisure Pvt Ltd.

The startup is also in the advanced stages of securing funding from a leading venture capital firm, sources told ET.

Tendulkar continues to command a high premium for brand endorsements. However, his involvement in this new venture is not a typical endorsement deal where he receives equity for being the public face of the brand, it said.

“They are likely to position it as a competitor to top brands like Nike, but at more affordable prices, leveraging local manufacturing and government policies that promote domestic production. The brand will soon launch products for sports like cricket and badminton,” a source told ET.

Besides, Tendulkar is also involved in a joint venture for the menswear brand True Blue with Arvind Fashions, which plans to take the brand global. Besides True Blue, he endorses Spinny, Boost, and BMW.

Tendulkar’s new venture highlights the rising trend of celebrities, both local and global, starting their own businesses. Notable examples include Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt launching startups in the D2C space, and cricketers like MS Dhoni and Deepak Chahar entering various ventures.

Alia Bhatt made her mark in the Indian startup scene with the launch of Ed-a-Mamma, a kidswear D2C brand, in 2020. Deepika Padukone co-founded the personal care brand 82°E with Jigar Shah in 2021. Indian cricketer Deepak Chahar entered the startup space with his fantasy gaming platform, Trade Fantasy Game (TFG), in February 2023.