Ashneer Grover reveals he rejected Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma as brand ambassadors in package deal: ‘Maine kaunse lehenge pehnane hain’

Ashneer began his story with some background information. He said that he was discussing an IPL deal with some brokers, and suggested that because every inch of the players’ jerseys is plastered with ads, he would like to place his on their backsides. The idea wasn’t taken seriously, Ashneer said, adding that as a solution, the broker suggested that he should enlist Kohli.

He said, “Maine bola chalo, Virat Kohli ko le lete hain, aur usne ek amount boli. Abhi bolunga nahi, Virat Kohli bura maan jayega. Phir bola ke Anushka ko bhi saath mein le lo. Maine bola maine kaunse Mayavar ke lehenge pehnane hain aur sherwani bechni hai, woh Manyavar waalon ne kar liya hai. Maine bola koi aur player bata, woh bolta hai ke uske baad kisi ki aukaat hi nahi hai. Maine kaha ek kaam kar, jitne ka tu mujhe Kohli bech raha tha na, usko divide by two kar, aur iss number pe mujhe baaki 11 player laa de. Aur maine wohi deal kari phir, 11 player liye, Kohli divided by two ke number pe (Kohli asked for an amount, which I won’t reveal here, he’ll take offence. They also offered me Anushka as a package deal, and I said I don’t want to repeat what Manyavar had already done. So, I asked if they could get me 11 other players for half of what Kohli was demanding. And that’s the deal I finally struck).”

Ashneer said that he actually told Kohli this story one time, and his reaction was amusing. “Mere paas ek bhi player ke saath photo nahi hai, main shoot pe nahi gaya. Ek hi photo hai, Kohli ke saath baat karte hue recently. Aur jo Kohli ke saath baat kar raha tha na, main usse yehi kissa suna raha tha, ke kaise aapko bechne aaye they, aur maine baake 11 player le liye aapko nahi liya. Kohli bola, ‘It’s very good business’ (I don’t have a single photo with any of them, I didn’t go for the shoots even. I just have one photo of me talking to Kohli recently. And I was telling him about this story. He said it was very good business).”

After becoming a household named thanks to the success of Shark Tank India season one, Ashneer didn’t return for the recently released second season. In the same conversation, he compared himself to Kohli playing for a small team, and said that it is time for him to level up after ‘dominating’ the first season of the show.