“Uske baad kisi ki aukat hi nahi hai”: How $107 million net worth Ashneer Grover couldn’t afford Virat Kohli as one of his company’s brand ambassador

Shark Tank India Season 1 fame, a businessman, entrepreneur and a angel investor Ashneer Grover is presently one of the most popular and influential figures in India.

A major reason for his rise in popularity was the result of his seemingly carefree attitude and ‘at your face’ demeanor with which he dealt with the contestants/pitchers during the the television show telecast a couple of years ago.

He was undoubtedly the star of the first season of Shark Tank India, and fans have been calling the show out for not been able to include him in the show’s ongoing second season.

Grover had once rejected or rather was unable to sign former India captain Virat Kohli and his wife-cum-actor Anushka Sharma as his company’s brand ambassador during one of the Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons.

The reason? He simply couldn’t afford the mega icon in Virat Kohli.

$107 million net worth Ashneer Grover couldn’t afford Virat Kohli as his company’s brand ambassador

During an interaction with the Vagehra Vagehra podcast a few days ago, Grover had revealed that while discussion an IPL-related deal with his brokers, he had decided to bank on Virat Kohli’s stature and appoint him as one of his brand ambassador.

However, the amount put forth by Kohli was so high that Grover had to let go of him. The brokers had even advised to rope in Anushka Sharma in the deal and go for the (undisclosed) amount. The deal was to have the brand’s name on the player’s back side of the jersey.

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“Maine bola chalo, Virat Kohli ko le lete hain, aur usne ek amount boli. Abhi bolunga nahi, Virat Kohli bura maan jayega. Phir bola ke Anushka ko bhi saath mein le lo. Phir maine bola koi aur player bata, woh bolta hai ke uske baad kisi ki aukat hi nahi hai (Kohli put forward an amount, which I won’t reveal here, he’ll take offence. They also offered me Anushka as a package deal. I then told him to suggest another player at the same amount. He replied no one else has it in him to afford such a huge amount)” remarked Grover during the podcast.

How huge the sum was, can be ascertained with the fact that Grover was then able to rope in 11 players from the Indian Cricket team at half the amount that Kohli had sought from the deal!

As for Grover, he is the co-founder and former managing director of the Indian fintech business BharatPe, which is a popular payment gateway application.

As an active investor, Grover had done around 55 investments in different startups, ranging from health tech to automobile sector.