I
n 2010, when he was slowly approaching the twilight of his career, Sachin Tendulkarchose to rewrite cricket history yet again. At the Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior, he notched up a double hundred against South Africa, the first batsman to cross the milestone in one-day cricket. Amidst the humidity, fatigue and a South African bowling line-up that comprised the likes of speedster Dale Steyn and the wily Jacques Kallis, Tendulkar didn’t lose focus even once, watching every ball and knocking down one record after another in a sublime display. It’s this mental weapon—focus, focus and focus—that he wields even now, over two years after his retirement, as he looks to play an entrepreneurial innings with similar gusto.
“When you play the first innings you don’t start thinking about the second innings. Only when the time comes, we will start thinking about the next step. We are focussed on today knowing where we want to be after five years,” Tendulkar tells Forbes Indiaduring the launch of True Blue, a joint venture between the cricketing great and Arvind Fashion Brands (a subsidiary of textile group Arvind Ltd).
True Blue, a premium menswear apparel brand, is Tendulkar’s ambition to create something special for the people of India. “Good brands grow on you. It is a long-term partnership, just like the ones we build in cricket,” he says.
The 2015 Forbes India Celebrity 100 List
On a cricket pitch, the bat was known to be an extension of Tendulkar’s arm. “With my eyes shut, I knew where it went. Good clothing is exactly like that. It is all about giving customers a second layer of skin,” says Tendulkar, who takes fashion tips from his 16-year-old son Arjun.
Tendulkar isn’t new to entrepreneurship. In 2002, he had partnered hotelier Sanjay Narang to launch two restaurants—Sachin’s and Tendulkar’s—in Mumbai. Narang, a hospitality industry veteran, recalls the time when he first met Tendulkar to show him the apron for the restaurant staff. “Sachin said, ‘Why don’t we do a piping along the edge of the apron and make it about a quarter inch thick?’ I hadn’t thought of this, but it looked really great. This gives you an idea of how he thinks of everything in detail,” says Narang over a call from London.
The Lalbhai brothers spin a new yarn at Arvind
The restaurants folded up in 2005 and 2007, respectively, but the 42-year-old continued to stay in the game through investments in Kerala Blasters, the Indian Super League franchise, travel portal Musafir, sports simulation venture Smaaash and celebrity merchandise and brand extension firm Universal Collectabillia. Recently, he has also invested in Smarton, a Hyderabad-based tech startup.
“When you play the first innings you don’t start thinking about the second innings. Only when the time comes, we will start thinking about the next step. We are focussed on today knowing where we want to be after five years,” Tendulkar tells Forbes Indiaduring the launch of True Blue, a joint venture between the cricketing great and Arvind Fashion Brands (a subsidiary of textile group Arvind Ltd).
True Blue, a premium menswear apparel brand, is Tendulkar’s ambition to create something special for the people of India. “Good brands grow on you. It is a long-term partnership, just like the ones we build in cricket,” he says.
The 2015 Forbes India Celebrity 100 List
On a cricket pitch, the bat was known to be an extension of Tendulkar’s arm. “With my eyes shut, I knew where it went. Good clothing is exactly like that. It is all about giving customers a second layer of skin,” says Tendulkar, who takes fashion tips from his 16-year-old son Arjun.
Tendulkar isn’t new to entrepreneurship. In 2002, he had partnered hotelier Sanjay Narang to launch two restaurants—Sachin’s and Tendulkar’s—in Mumbai. Narang, a hospitality industry veteran, recalls the time when he first met Tendulkar to show him the apron for the restaurant staff. “Sachin said, ‘Why don’t we do a piping along the edge of the apron and make it about a quarter inch thick?’ I hadn’t thought of this, but it looked really great. This gives you an idea of how he thinks of everything in detail,” says Narang over a call from London.
The Lalbhai brothers spin a new yarn at Arvind
The restaurants folded up in 2005 and 2007, respectively, but the 42-year-old continued to stay in the game through investments in Kerala Blasters, the Indian Super League franchise, travel portal Musafir, sports simulation venture Smaaash and celebrity merchandise and brand extension firm Universal Collectabillia. Recently, he has also invested in Smarton, a Hyderabad-based tech startup.
