Meet Jatin Paranjpe, former India cricketer who built Rs 72,00,00,000 company after injury setback

Ardent cricket lovers would know about the inspiring journey of Jatin Paranjpe but for everyone else too, this is a story that needs to be known. Paranjpe was a promising cricketer who had a successful Ranji career as well as a short but memorable stint representing India on the international stage. In fact, Jatin pipped a 14-year-old Sachin Tendulkar in winning the Bombay Cricket Association’s Junior Cricketer of the Year award in 1986-87. However, Paranjpe’s career was cut short due to an ankle injury. Years later, he built a multi-million dollar startup.

The 1972-born Paranjpe was a stylish left-handed batter and also used to bowl slow left-arm orthodox bowler. Batting in the middle order, he made debut in Ranji Trophy in 1991-92 and took seven years to earn a place in the national team in 1998. The highlight of his career was a memorable 23 not out knock in the Sahara Cup in Toronto, as he led India to a victory in the first match of the series. However, he picked up an ankle injury two matches later, which unfortunately ended his stint in the international team.

Paranjpe played Ranji again but was never picked by national selectors despite admirable performances on the domestic circuit. While it looked like Paranjpe’s story was ending here, it was starting a new chapter. Paranjpe was approached by a sports management firm called Australian Sporting Frontiers and joined them, spending two years learning the trade. He then founded his first company SportsOne India, a sports events and marketing firm.

Another turning point came when Nike eyed Paranjpe and brought him onboard. He also handled European football for Nike, living in the Netherlands for 3 years. The learnings on the job led to him finally returning to India where he founded KheloMore in 2017. Paranjpe’s company works as an aggregator for coaches and academies for different sports like cricket, basketball, football and badminton.

His Mumbai-based startup’s investors include Dream11, Eruditus CEO Ashwin Damera. Jatin Paranjpe is married to Gandhali Paranjpe, who is the sister of Bollywood actress Sonali Bendre. Gandhali is also a director of Khelomore. Jatin’s father Vasoo Paranjape was also a Ranji cricketer in 1960s and also was a renowned coach at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Paranjpe was also a national selector for BCCI.