Sachin Tendulkar buys 20% stake in Kerala Blasters

The ISL team's total value is calculated at Rs 200 crore

Sachin Tendulkar will be the largest shareholder of Indian Super League [ISL] football team, Kerala Blasters as he buys additional 20% stake in the team from Hyderbad based PVP Ventures. The deal is in range of Rs 75 -80 crore, sources close to the development said. After the deal Sachin's stake in the team, which entered the finals of the first ISL in 2014, will be 60%. In the second season which kicked off last week in Chennai, Kerala Blasters entered the arena with a big bang, defeating North East United by a margin of 3-1.

The total share value of the team is calculated at Rs 200 crore. Muthoot Pappachan Group, which owns Muthoot Finance Limited [MFL], the largest gold finance company of the country will also buy additional 20% from PVP group, raising its holding in the team to 40%. PVP will hold the rest 20% of shares.

Sachin, soon after his retirement from professional cricket, had involved in the affairs of Kerala Blasters very actively and he visited Kerala several times to enthuse his team. In both seasons Sachin arrived to release the jersey of the team. He is not a silent partner of the team, but actively involved in football in recent times. Along with his family he was with the team in several matches during the first season of ISL in order to make his team victorious. His presence enthused the team to reach the finals in the first season. Recently Sachin bought a new villa in Kochi as he likes Kerala and Kerala Blasters much. Sachin was the brand ambassador of the National Games organized in Kerala in February.

Apart from Sachin, Cricketers like Sourav Ganguly, M.S. Dhoni and Virat Kohli have holding in various ISL teams. The team has an annual revenue of US $ 15 million.