Da One Group, headed by Shikhar Dhawan, is slowly building one of India’s most integrated sport-and-education ecosystems.
What started as a focused cricket initiative has gradually evolved into a multi-vertical platform that combines sport and education, with long-term social effect at its centre. Da One Sports is now developing high-performance routes for young athletes, while the Shikhar Dhawan Foundation is increasing access to education and digital empowerment in neglected regions. They have a common goal: to make sport a source of opportunity and ambition across India.
Anshita Gupta, Group CEO of Da One, is at the core of this transformation, having played a key role in determining the organization’s strategic orientation. Under her guidance, Da One has shifted its attention to developing long-term grassroots infrastructure, modern training settings, and scalable digital IPs, all while maintaining the brand’s mission and professionalism. Da One is trying to establish an ambitious, inclusive, and future-ready athletic ecosystem, with Shikhar Dhawan’s credibility and influence helping to promote the mission.
In this interview, Anshita Gupta discusses the founding vision, revenue engines for Da One Group, the business model driving the next phase of growth, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead as the group strives to redefine India’s grassroots-to-elite sports pipeline.
1. What was the founding vision behind Da One Group, and how has its strategic direction evolved since inception?
At its heart, Da One started with a simple but powerful idea, that sport and education go hand-in-hand. We believe that sport can be a driver of opportunity, aspiration, and social mobility in India. The journey began with structured cricket training, but we quickly realised that talent alone cannot thrive in isolation. What truly matters is the ecosystem around it. That realisation led to the evolution of Da One into a broader, multi-vertical sports ecosystem. Today, through Da One Sports and the Shikhar Dhawan Foundation, our focus is firmly on purpose-led platforms that nurture talent, deepen grassroots participation, and contribute to building a stronger sporting culture in the country.
2. How do Da One Sports and the Shikhar Dhawan Foundation complement each other from a business and ecosystem standpoint?
We often say they are two sides of the same coin. Each vertical operates independently but is aligned by a shared purpose of strengthening India’s sports and education ecosystem. Da One Sports focuses on building structured talent development and high-performance pathways, while the Shikhar Dhawan Foundation focuses on education and digital empowerment, especially for children from underserved communities. Together, they create a holistic pipeline where young individuals are supported both on and off the field. This enables early talent identification, responsible nurturing, and long-term development. It is a model where purpose and professionalism grow together.
3. What are the current revenue engines for Da One Group, and how do you anticipate this mix shifting over the next 3–5 years?
The global sports ecosystem is undergoing a fundamental shift, and our growth strategy is closely aligned with that change. Worldwide, sport is no longer limited to athletes alone. It is a rapidly expanding industry that includes technology, IPs, media rights, branding, and structured pathways across multiple roles.
Cricket is a powerful reflection of this change. The rise of T20 leagues across the world, the emergence of new markets like the USA through MLC, and the global spotlight from events like the T20 World Cup highlight how expansive this ecosystem has become.
When you look at IPL media rights being valued at nearly 48 thousand crore, second only to leagues like the NFL and the Premier League, it clearly shows how deeply sport and business are now intertwined in India. What’s equally telling is how traditional brands are betting big on sport with Tata’s association with the IPL and WPL, or brands like Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, and CEAT associating with cricket across formats and levels. The recent 579 crore jersey sponsorship deal between Apollo Tyres and the BCCI further underlines the scale and seriousness of long-term commercial investment in Indian sport.
Beyond marquee properties, the broader ecosystem is expanding as well. In 2024, India’s sports sponsorship market crossed 16 thousand crore, with non-cricket sports beginning to claim a more meaningful share, a sign that growth is widening, not just getting deeper.
At Da One, we are building from the bottom of the pyramid upwards. Our current focus is on developing strong cricket infrastructure, integrating technology into training, and embedding sport into everyday lifestyles rather than treating it as an extracurricular activity. Equally important is creating clear, professional pathways, not just for players, but for the broader business of sports.
Over the next few years, we expect digital sports IPs, tech-enabled training formats, and structured academies to play a much larger role in both scale and revenue. This vision is further supported by our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, under whom national initiatives like Khelo India and the Fit India Movement, have taken birth, which reflect a strong policy-level commitment to sport. Combined with increasing corporate involvement, the growth of women’s cricket through platforms like the WPL, and rising parental acceptance, the ecosystem is expanding across every layer, and Da One is positioned squarely within that momentum.
4. In purpose-led initiatives like grassroots cricket development, what metrics do you use to evaluate ROI?
In grassroots sport, success is not always instant and it certainly should not be measured only by numbers. We look closely at how many children stay engaged over time, how many move into more structured pathways, and whether families start seeing sport as a serious opportunity rather than a short-term activity. If a child comes back season after season, grows in confidence, and remains within the system, that is real return on investment for us.
5. How do you align Shikhar Dhawan’s personal brand with the long-term commercial ambitions of Da One?
Shikhar brings a huge amount of trust and relatability to the table. Parents, partners, and young athletes instantly connect with his journey and values. At the same time, we are very clear that Da One is not built as a personality-led organisation. His involvement is strategic and meaningful. The idea is to draw from the values he represents, while building an institution that stands strong on its own.
6. What tangible advantages does the association with a leading cricketer bring to brand credibility and partnerships?
The association brings instant credibility and authenticity to everything we do in the sports education ecosystem. It creates a strong trust factor with key stakeholders and provides access to elite sporting networks that enable stronger partnerships and higher-quality IP creation. The pull of a global sporting icon also helps accelerate conversations and unlock premium opportunities.
7. How actively does Shikhar Dhawan participate in strategic decision-making, and how is his brand equity deployed?
Shikhar is deeply invested in the long-term direction of the group. He’s involved in vision-setting, expansion decisions, and key partnerships, but we’re also very conscious about maintaining professional governance. His brand equity is used thoughtfully, for moments that shape perception and credibility, while day-to-day operations are driven by a dedicated leadership team.
8. What are the biggest challenges in scaling sports infrastructure and training facilities across different regions in India?
India’s diversity is both its strength and its biggest challenge. Training standards, access to quality coaches, real estate constraints, and even mindset vary widely across regions. We’ve learned that a one-size-fits-all approach does not necessarily work. That’s why we’re focusing on flexible, asset-light models and using technology to maintain consistency, while still adapting to local realities.
9. As CEO, what would you define as a transformational milestone for Da One in the next five years?
For me, success would be when Da One is seen as a genuinely trusted platform in Indian sport, one that parents believe in, young athletes aspire to be part of, and partners see long-term value in. If we can build systems that take a child from early exposure to high performance, supported by digital and programme-led IPs, while also creating real social and economic opportunity, that’s when we know we’ve done something meaningful.
