Hardik Pandya ends long-term association with RIL's RISE

Hardik Pandya recently announced a new business initiative, but the real significance of his message has gone largely unnoticed. Although he did not say it explicitly, his social media post effectively declares that he has moved on from RISE, the agency with which he had been associated with for the last 12 years.

RISE - or RISE Worldwide Ltd, the sports and lifestyle business arm of Reliance Industries - had managed his commercial affairs all these years. However, about a month ago, the ace India all-rounder set up his own business venture. Pandya was joined in the new initiative by his brother Krunal, who too has exited RISE.

There is no immediate information of Pandya's exit from RISE having any impact on his association with the Mumbai Indians, the five-team IPL team he captains. Although an MI spokesperson did not offer a comment, sources indicated that the company would be willing to assist him in any possible way in the future.

Pandya's new venture is the Hardik Pandya Family Office, which is being managed by Out of the Park - a celebrity management firm founded by Ritesh Nath, an experienced hand in the field. Nath was previously associated with Cornerstone, a leading celebrity management company that handles many cricketers.

"I'm excited to share that I'm officially setting up my family office to bring all my business ventures, investments and off-field commitments under one unified version. This is an important step towards building long-term meaningful opportunities on and off the field and I could not be more thrilled about what is ahead. I'm partnering with an incredible team of Out of the Park who will now manage and oversee all my business interests," Pandya's November 26 post read.

RISE continues to be the premier talent management company with which the country's top cricketers are associated. Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan and Sai Sudharsan among others are part of it.

Pandya could not be immediately contacted.