Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, who owns Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) team Jaipur Pink Panthers, said he is not looking to dilute stake in the franchise since it is profitable and there is no strategic reason to get an external investor.

"I would dilute the stake if I feel that I can't fund it any more. This is a very personal enterprise for me. Kabaddi is very close to my heart, and as long as I feel that me and my family office can run it and fund it, I will keep it 100% within my fold," he told ET.

He also said that all PKL teams, including Jaipur Pink Panthers, are worth upwards of Rs 100 crore. He also said that the seed fund that he invested in the team has grown 100X in value.

"From season 2, Jaipur Pink Panthers has been a profitable team and has managed to scrape through and maintain that over the years. Our books are very healthy, and that's something I pay very close attention to," he said.

According to Bachchan, PKL organizers Mashal Sports and media rights owner Star India have played a pivotal role in building PKL into a viable sporting league. Star had paid Rs 900 crore to bag the PKL media rights in 2021.

Cinephiles accustomed to watching Abhishek Bachchan venting his anger in the midst of sporting events could perhaps decipher the reason behind his aggression—his week-old release, Sons Of Soil, a documentary on his kabaddi team, Jaipur Pink Panthers, showcases him being witness to the slew of antagonistic statements constantly hurdled towards players. "Kabaddi is a full-contact sport, and emotions are likely to run high. Sometimes you have to stop [the fights], and tell the players to calm down. On other occasions, you have to let them vent it out," Bachchan tells mid-day, asserting that despite being a passionate owner, who was deeply involved in the functioning of his team, he'd usually let the coaches play mediators.

Many may judge the decision of a football and basket ball aficionado to place his bet on talented but inexperienced kabaddi players to be out of keeping with traditional norms, but Bachchan wouldn't have it any other way. An encouraging interaction with commentator Charu Sharma was instrumental in him supporting a game that was "India's pride". "Everybody loves cricket, which has a great [promotional] system in place. Kabaddi is our indigenous sport and deserves to have a league of its own. There is a lot that should be contributed to it, and its players. It is a matter of pride to say that this is the second most-watched sporting event after the Indian Premier League."

He credits showmakers Amazon Prime Video for depicting the series such that it gives viewers a peek into the lives of the players who have invested in the sport. "Each one of them has a unique story of resilience. The makers have shown the humane side, apart from their lives on the field. They have shown their history, how they became the players that they are. A viewer will invest emotionally, and will root for them, owing to all that they have gone through," he says, adding that there isn't any other facet of their lives, or the sport, that he would have wanted showcased.