Internet Desk: Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has added heft to Pro Kabaddi by becoming a co-owner of a new Chennai oriented franchise which will take part with three other teams in the fifth season of VIVO Pro Kabaddi League.
The new four teams will represent Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
The Chennai-based outfit is owned by a consortium – Iquest Enterprises Private Limited, which also include Tendulkar and actor N Prasad.
The JSW Group, Adani Group and GMR Group are the other three owners of the newly formed Pro Kabaddi League teams.
Uday Shankar, Chairman and CEO, Star India said, “I’m delighted to welcome some of India’s finest corporates to our Mission Kabaddi.
“We believe that with the support of existing and new partners we are well on our course to realizing a socially transformative sports agenda. The interest shown by these corporates is evidence of the immense potential of Kabaddi.”
With this, VIVO Pro Kabaddi is poised to surpass other Indian sports leagues in terms of geographical representation 11 states, number of matches 130+ matches and length of the tournament 13 weeks.
Janardan Singh Gehlot, President, International Kabaddi Federation, said, “We laud Star India and Mashal Sports for uniquely transforming and renewing Kabaddi, and their relentless efforts to scale it even higher.
“The addition of 4 new teams to the ever-growing VIVO Pro Kabaddi League signifies a promising road ahead for the sport in India as well as over the world.”
This expansion adds to an already impressive line-up of 8 franchises based out of major metros in the country Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Patna, Pune and Jaipur.
Earlier this week, Star India announced a breakthrough deal with VIVO India, the global smartphone major — as the title sponsor of the league for five years.