Cricketers Owned Restaurants by Suhel Johar

Cricketers earning immense money on and off the field aren’t unheard of. But since a lot of their income mainly depends on their form, several of the cricketers plunge into business ventures to keep them financially secure after their cricketing career comes to an end.

While cricketers like Dhoni and Virat Kohli entered the fitness business, several others like Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan plunged into restaurant ownership. Considering their brand image in itself is sufficient for their business to run a successful course, a lot of Indian cricketers have taken up hospitality entrepreneurship.

Ravindra Jadeja in a similar fashion opened up a restaurant as well. Following a cricket theme, the restaurant earned immense popularity ever since its launch in 2012. However, Jadeja’s restaurant sometime back witnessed some ill fate when a court ordered smashing a part of the restaurant to the ground.

Stating that the restaurant had illegally obtained extra property, the action seemed reasonable. In-spite of this, the restaurant’s popularity failed to cease and has continued to grow.

While for some the ventures ended in disaster, others are quite successful at it and have now got franchises in a few big cities.

Here, FoodieFilmy looks at some of those restaurants and the fate they suffered.

Nueva by Virat Kohli

The most recent cricketer owned restairant is Virat Kohli’s Nueva that opened in New Delhi in May 2017. Virat Kohli’s Nueva serves authentic South American food and the menu has some more inspirations from Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Japan and Asian food. From pan-sneared Duckes to Peruvian piscos, the restaurant has some unique signature dishes that is bound to woo you. Located in RK Puram, Delhi, this restaurant has already become extremely popular thanks to Virat’s association as well as the out of the box dishes that are served here.

Incidentally, Virat is also into other business ventures like fashion clothing brand, WROGN, ISL team FC Goa and others.

Elevens by Kapil Dev

Being the man who led India to world glory in 1983, Kapil Dev became an iconic figure in the country. He was the first one amongst the Indian cricketers to get into the hospitality business. He launched a hotel in Chandigarh in the 1980s. Initially named as Hotel Kapil, it is now known as Kaptain’s Retreat. It continues till date in his home town as Kapil has expanded his entrepreneurial activities to other avenues. Kapil Dev has surely shown his all-round side in the restaurant business with his restaurant Elevens in Patna.Kapil’s most recent hospitality venture is Elevens that he started in Patna, Bihar. Elevens is quite an exquisite restaurant that emits class at every level. Kapil’s restaurant serves Indian and Chinese cuisine with some Thai "Must Haves". With tasty food and enticing ambience, this restaurant will grab your attention and force you to come back repeatedly. It also has a refined bar and lounge that add to its lustre.

 

Tendulkar's World by Sachin Tendulkar

Owned by The God Of Cricket, the restaurant is all about him. Every piece of crockery has Sachin's signature on it and the menu consists of some of his favourite dishes from around the world.

Sachin Tendulkar began his entrepreneurial journey during his playing days as his first restaurant, Tendulkar's, was inaugurated in 2002 in Mumbai. He had started this venture in partnership with well-known hotelier Sanjay Narang. Tendulkar’s second restaurant called Sachin’s also made an appearance in one of Mumbai’s northern suburbs and in Bangalore. Despite his iconic stature, success did not come his way in this arena. There were reports that he was planning a comeback in hospitality, but no projects have been announced so far.

 
ZK's by Zaheer Khan

This restaurant is known for its tandoori delicacies. It also serves Oriental, Indian and Continental food. You can never come out dissatisfied from Zaheer's restaurant.

Compared to some of his former teammates, Zaheer Khan has tasted some success in the hospitality business as he has gone on to expand his chain of restaurants. Zaheer started off in 2004-05 with a restaurant in Pune called ZK’s. He also owns Banquet Foyer, which deals with corporate events. Then, in 2013, he started a sports lounge called Toss in Pune, which was inaugurated in the presence of some of his then Royal Challengers Bangalore teammates. He also went on to open Dine Fine, a fine dine multi-cuisine restaurant. Today, Zaheer Khan also owns a host of fitness clubs.

 

Jaddu’s Food Field by Ravindra Jadeja

Even as Ravindra Jadeja was trying to cement his place in the Indian team, he started a restaurant called Jaddu’s Food Field on December 12, 2012 in Rajkot. As Jadeja considers 12 his lucky number, he picked 12.12.2012 as the date of the launch. It coincided with his maiden Test call-up and was launched while he was away with the Indian team. Jadeja had once said in an interview, “Obviously it was a numerically special day — 12.12.12. But apart from that, I consider 12 as my lucky number. I was also born in the 12th month of the year — December 6, 1988. I always wear No 12 jersey. And I was also picked for Test cricket in the 12th month of 2012.”

Ministry of Crab by Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara

The Sri Lankan team mates, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara have a friendship that is famous in the world of cricket. The Sri Lankan players turned their friendship into business when they came together and opened renowned chef Dharshan Munise to start Ministry of Crab in Colombo. The restaurant is famous for its sea food delicacies, especially the crab dishes and the Sri Lankan duo enjoy working together in this venture.

Triple Century Sports Bar by Chris Gayle

Virat Kohli’s team mate from Royal Challengers Bangalore is known all over the world for his life style which has been full of parties. The West Indian batsman opened his own restaurant called Triple Century Sports Bar back home in Jamaica. Chris Gyale enjoys his off time by throwing parties and enjoying the casual Jamaican life at his retro bar and the bar has some geat review and is quite famous in Jamaica.

Sichuan Garden by Mohammad Ashraful

Bangladeshi cricketer Mohammad Ashraful invokes contrasting opinions from cricket fans. He started off as a prodigy with immense talent but one who never quite lived up to potential. And, when he showed signs of settling in, he admitted to match-fixing in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and was banned for five years. Fortunately, he had his business to sustain him as he owns a Chinese restaurant in Dhaka called Sichuan Garden.

Sourav's - The Food Pavilion by Sourav Ganguly

Dada's restaurant is all about charm and serving high quality food from all cuisines. Located in Kolkata, the restaurant's Indian food is a must try.

The Prince of Kolkata’s ambitious Sourav’s— The Food Pavilion lasted only for only seven years in a city that literally worships him. The Food Pavilion had four levels, with different restaurants and a bar. It began in 2004, while he was still captain of the Indian team, in partnership with another company. Two years down the line, Ganguly became the full-time owner of the restaurant, but he could not prevent it from shutting down in 2011.

Sehwag Favourites by Virendra Sehwag

Virender Sehwag has always looked up to Sachin Tendulkar, trying to ape his idol on the field of play. As his cricketing stocks grew, the Nawab of Najafgarh walked in Tendulkar’s footsteps and started a vegetarian restaurant called Sehwag Favourites in Delhi. It did not end happily for Sehwag as the restaurant shut and he moved the court against his partner.

Senso by Ajay Jadeja

In 2002, Ajay Jadeja’s Italian restaurant Senso opened shop in Delhi. India Today reported that Diwakar Shastri, the grandson of former Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, was one of investors in the restaurant. The restaurant wasn’t able to attract diners regularly and Jadeja was left to focus on cricket and the media.

Bat and Ball Inn by Robin Uthappa and S Sreesanth

Robin Uthappa and S Sreesanth were the toast of the nation following India’s victory at the ICC World T20 2007. The two India players partnered in a lodging-cum-cafe venture called the Bat and Ball Inn. It started in Bangalore in tandem with former Kerala cricketer JK Mahendra. Like many other hospitality ventures by cricketers in India, this too failed to pick up.