A college dropout too, this former cricketer was on the verge of realising his IPL dream but decided to take a different path to script his success story.
Former Tamil Nadu cricketer Sarvesh Shashi gave up his IPL dream to become a celebrity-backed yogi and businessman, built a Rs 100 crore company and gained students like Alia Bhatt and Yami Gautam. His vision is backed by Bollywood stars like Malaika Arora, Shahid Kapoor and his wife Mira Kapoor. Other celebrity investors who have put their money in Shashi’s venture include Aishwarya Rajinikanth and global star Jennifer Lopez.
A college dropout too, Shashi is the founder and CEO of wellness firms Sarva and Diva Yoga. Sarva’s latest valuation is $14.1 million (around Rs 117 crore), according to data from Tracxn. Shashi’s tryst with yoga began by chance when his father took up a foundation class but was unable to continue and asked him to take the lessons. Sarvesh’s father Shashi Kumar is a Chennai-based businessman and chairman of Sabari Group. His yoga guru from the lesson inspired him to take wellness to people. The two began the journey with three studios in Chennai providing yoga-based wellness as a tool to tackle the stresses of modern lifestyles. The company also has an app for virtual lessons and has raised a total funding of $12.1 million.
Sarvesh is a practicing yogi who reportedly adheres to the five vows of non-violence, non-intoxication, celibacy, truthfulness and no mental or physical theft. After playing cricket for his Tamil Nadu, Sarvesh was on the cusp of landing his dream to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was reportedly picked up by 2 IPL teams. However, he gave up that admission to launch Sarva with an unsecured Rs 5 lakh loan. In 2016, his company reached Rs 100 crore valuation, just 3 years after starting out in 2013.
From being an unknown, Sarvesh hung out with celebrities like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Naomi Campbell. He even flew in Jennifer Lopez’s private plane to Las Vegas to see her concert.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Meet ex-cricketer who quit IPL dream to build Rs 100 crore company backed by Malaika Arora, Shahid and Mira Kapoor")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}