Champions Trophy at Khaitan & Co's Investors Cricket Cup 2023 won by NIIF

Champions Trophy at Khaitan & Co's Investors Cricket Cup 2023 won by NIIF

Khaitan & Co hosted and organized a three-day long cricket tournament, Investors Cricket Cup 2023 held from February 10th-12th at the Somaiya Ayurvihar Ground in Mumbai.

The tournament was hosted aiming at bringing the financial investor community together in a riveting tournament setting with a competitive yet relaxed atmosphere, with family members and friends cheering the teams as well. Over 300 players from 24 teams participated and 64 matches were played.

The finale was played between National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Kotak Private Equity with NIIF winning the Champions Trophy.

The Investors Cricket Cup for the private equity community was launched by Khaitan & Co in 2019. After a brief interval owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cricket tournament was back on schedule in 2023.

The coveted "Man of the Series" and the "Best Batsman" was won by Sanchit Agarwal from NIIF. Sumit Kedia from NIIF walked with the "Best Bowler." Apoorva Modak from NIIF won the "Best Wicket Keeper", whereas Anurag Bajaj from Blackstone and Abhay Agrawal from NewQuest were awarded the "Best Fielder".

Blackstone defeated NewQuest and won the Gold Champions trophy.

"Aubergine Stars" (with players from KKR, Carlyle, Apax and Khaitan & Co) won the first Women's Investor Cup beating "SuperGirls" (with players from Brookfield and Goldman Sachs) to secure the title.

Sanchit Agarwal, captain of the winning team from NIIF, said, "This tournament has been a tremendous platform for us to meet like-minded investment professionals across various firms. For us, this tournament was not just about winning, but about coming together as a community. I hope that the bonds formed on and off the field will continue to thrive. Definitely, this is something that we will look forward to next year. Finally, on behalf of the entire NIIF team, I would like to specially thank the entire Khaitan & Co organising team for organising this mega event. The tournament was just fantastic. Kudos to the team."

Aubergine Stars' captain, Ami Momaya, from KKR said, "The firsts are always special, it feels terrific to be the first ones to win the women's trophy." She thanked Khaitan & Co for organising the tournament and said that they hope to be back next year and take the trophy home again.

Himanshu Dodeja, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone said, "On the behalf of the entire Blackstone team, we would like to thank Khaitan & Co. for hosting a very high-quality and unique tournament, which brought the entire private equity industry together. Every participant was made to feel that they were playing in an international cricket game with great colleagues and friends. Special thanks to Haigreve and the entire leadership team at Khaitan & Co in conceiving and executing the cricket bonanza over the weekend."

Aakash Choubey, Partner, Khaitan & Co said, "The love of cricket always brings people together and it has been incredible to see the sportsmanship, camaraderie, and competitive fervor in this year's Investors Cricket Cup. The tournament was conceived with a view to host the Indian PE community and provide them a fun, informal and collegial setting in which to showcase their cricketing skills, which they can enjoy with their families over the course of a weekend. True to their professional ethos, the tournament saw a juxtaposition of off-field strategies and on-field tactics by all the participants and bore true testimony to the power of teamwork, collaboration and demonstrating excellence in challenging situations, while keeping the sporting spirit high."

The tournament saw participation from several well-recognized private equity firms - Actis, Advent, Apax Partners, Apollo, Bain Capital, Blackstone, Brookfield, Carlyle, CPPIB, GIC, Goldman Sachs, General Atlantic, Kotak Private Equity, KKR, Macquarie, Motilal Oswal Private Equity, NewQuest, NIIF, OTPP, Piramal Alternatives, SoftBank, True North, Temasek, and Warburg Pincus, who battled it out on the pitch.