Cricketer Bhuvneshwar Kumar to launch NFTs

Indian medium-pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. (File Image: IPL/BCCI/Twitter)

Indian swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s NFTs will be available on cricket digital collectibles platform Rario, the latter announced on February 14.

Kumar joins the likes of Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Smriti Mandhana, Rishabh Pant, Rashid Khan, Jason Holder, Quinton De Kock, Mohammad Siraj, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shafali Verma as a player partner of the platform.

Bhuvneshwar, bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 4.2 crore at the recent IPL auction, said, “As a child, I used to play the game (cricket) wherever I could, be it at home, on the streets, or at the local park with my friends, and we used to collect cards of our favourite cricketers. Having represented my country at home and overseas, I feel delighted that some of my most cherished moments on the field can now be collected and treasured as NFTs by cricket fans.”

Rario Co-Founder and CEO Ankit Wadhwa said, “Bhuvneshwar has been one of those rare cricketers who have proved their mettle in all formats of the game. I look forward to having him on board as an ambassador along with the other hall-of-famers at Rario, and I think I have the pace attack sorted for my metaverse cricket team.”

Backed by investors like Polygon Studios, Kingsway Capital, Presight Capital, DST investment, Animoca, Thiel Capital, to name a few, Rario is built on the Polygon Network by a team of Indian founders. It enables fans to engage as a community and invest in tangible sporting moments, giving them a chance to own a piece of sports history.

Bhuvneshwar added, “I am excited to be joining some of my counterparts, colleagues and closest friends from the cricketing space like Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan into this new and exciting world of cutting edge technology.”