Celebrities have long moved past the realm of lights and cameras to indulge their passion for fashion, food, and alcohol. Many have fully or partially-owned businesses in these sectors that they regularly endorse on their social media platforms. Over the past few years, a few of them have also donned sports jerseys, investing in games like cricket, badminton, football, and even kabaddi. As they make appearances at stadiums and an increasingly large number of sports stars take on advertisements, the lines between entertainment and sports have blurred. The relationship between Bollywood and sports go beyond personal relationships and some of the top Hindi movie stars have invested heavily in sports and have a team of their own. Some of India’s favourite games are backed by Bollywood’s biggest names. We round up a list of celebrities who own sports teams.
*Shahrukh Khan*
Undoubtedly the reigning superstar and the global star the King Khan aka Shah Rukh Khan is someone who invested his time and money into cricket and is the proud owner of Kolkata knight Riders. IPL-based franchise Kolkata Knight Riders remains his most popular investment to be which he’s co-owned since its inception in 2008. Besides these, Khan also flaunts sports teams abroad, including Cape Town Knight Riders, Trinbago Knight Riders, and LA Knight Riders.
*Abhishek Bacchan*
He in the lead in two of the country’s sports teams. He owns the successful Pro kabbadi league team Jaipur Panther and two time ISL winners Team Chenniyan FC.
*Parvin Dabas & Preeti Jangiani*
The co-founders of worlds No 1 arm wrestling league Pro Panja league has taken arm wrestling sports to the next level. Inspite of being an actor, producer and director, Parvin along with his actress wife Preeti jhangiani has been actively involved to promote this prestigious sports. PPL has over 150 million views across all social media platforms and has reached commendable heights due to the efforts of the couple who have done an extraordinary job at taking their arm wrestling foundation Pro Panja League to international levels.
*Ranbir Kapoor*
Actor Ranbir Kapoor is known to take to the field to play football with his friends and coworker. The Barfi star has expressed his passion for the sport numerous times, adding that he’s keen on starring in sports-centric movies. In line with this, he bought a stake in Mumbai’s premium football league, Mumbai.
*Taapsee Pannu*
Actress Tapsee Pannu has played the role of several sports personalities in features like Rashmi Rocket, Saand Ki Aankh, and Soorma. Her latest movie sees her step into the shoes of an Indian cricketer and captain of the national sports team Mithali Raj. She’s expressed her passion for sports in the past, The actress invested in a franchise badminton team Pune 7 Aces in 2018, which competed in the 2018-2019 season of the Premier Badminton League.