National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) wins the Champions Trophy at Khaitan & Co’s Investor Cricket Cup 2023

Mumbai  : In a thrilling three-day long cricket tournament, Investors Cricket Cup 2023 hosted and organized by leading law firm, Khaitan & Co, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) clinched the winning Champions Trophy, beating Kotak Private Equity in the final. Blackstone took home the Gold Champions trophy as they defeated NewQuest. “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.

The star of the tournament was Sanchit Agarwal from NIIF who won the coveted “Man of the Series” and “Best Batsman”, while Sumit Kedia from NIIF was awarded the “Best Bowler.” Apoorva Modak from NIIF bagged the “Best Wicket Keeper”, and Anurag Bajaj from Blackstone and Abhay Agrawal from NewQuest were awarded the “Best Fielder”.

With over 300 players, 24 teams and 64 matches overall, the Investors Cricket Cup 2023 was hosted with an aim to bring 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. 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. NIIF lifted the winning trophy, taking over from previous years’ winner, GIC.

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 fervour 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.

Sanchit Agarwal, captain of the winning team at 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, man 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. I want to thank Khaitan & Co for organising the tournament. It has been a delight to get on the ground and showcase our love for the game. We 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 a 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.”

Khaitan & Co launched the Investors Cricket Cup for the private equity community in 2019. After a brief hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cricket tournament was back on schedule in 2023. The three-day tournament was held from 10 – 12 February at the Somaiya Ayurvihar Ground in Mumbai.