Virat Kohli will join other sporting legends like Rafael Nadal, Didier Drogba, Tom Brady and more as a team-owner in the E1 World Championships. (Image: Instagram)
Virat Kohli will be part of the Blue Rising team and the event will begin in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, next year.
India’s star batter, Virat Kohli has been announced as the latest celebrity team owner for the E1 World Championships. He joins the likes of Rafael Nadal, Tom Brady, Didier Drogba and Sergio Perez as part of the world’s first all-electric powerboat series.
The UIM E1 World Championship becomes the latest entry into the environmentally responsible motor-sports competition and joins the likes of Formula E and off-road Extreme E. It is scheduled to start racing next year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Kohli, widely regarded as one of the game’s best batsmen, and sports tech entrepreneur Adi K Mishra will be principals at the helm of “The Blue Rising” team in the competition who is the brainchild of Formula E and Extreme E founder Alejandro Agag.
“I want to inspire people to have a competitive spirit and to raise awareness about sustainability issues, something I am becoming more and more passionate about as we build a family,” Kohli, 34, said in a statement.
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“I can’t wait to cheer for our male and female pilots racing for our team.”
Former Chelsea striker Drogba, seven-time NFL Super Bowl champion Brady, 22-time tennis Grand Slam champion Nadal and Formula One driver Sergio Perez were all previously named as team owners in the series.
Former India captain Kohli is preparing for the World Cup on home soil starting on Thursday, said he was looking forward to lining up against his fellow team owners once the competition begins.
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“We’re going electric, we’re going flying over the water and we’re going to try to win it for The Blue Rising,” Kohli said.
The inaugural season will have stops in Venice, Monaco and Rotterdam with more venues to be announced later.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)
