NEW DELHI: Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is making his debut in the world of commercial fitness, by launching a chain of gyms.

In the first-of-its-kind venture for any sportsperson in the country, Dhoni has started a venture, SportsFit World Pvt Ltd, to open 200 gyms across the country in five years, his business partner and manager Arun Pandey said.

A person familiar with the development said a couple of overseas investors have picked up minority stakes in SportsFit World and that the company will invest 1,500-2,000 crore in five years.

Pandey would not confirm this. He said the first four of these gyms, branded SportsFit, will open within four-eight weeks.

The gyms will be run either as company-owned or as franchisees, details of which are still being worked out, Pandey said.

SportsFit Chief Executive Officer Pankaj Guliani said the gyms will focus on performance-based fitness.

"As wicketkeeper and batsman, Dhoni does a minimum of 540 squats in one day of a Test match. So our entire objective is to set new standards of fitness among Indians," Guliani said.

Before joining SportsFit, Guliani was engaged in the business of fitness equipment.

The first SportsFit gym will open at Gurgaon, spread across 25,000 sq ft in the upcoming mall, Global Foyer.

It will be followed by gyms in Delhi, Chandigarh and Faridabad.

India's overall fitness market is estimated at 4,000 crore, according to a PwC-Ficci report of the wellness industry released in September 2011. Fitness services and slimming centres account for almost two-thirds of it at around 2,600 crore.

The fitness market is estimated to be growing at over 30% - the fastest-growing sector in the overall wellness market comprising gyms, spas and fitness equipment used at homes and slimming centres.

Guliani said SportsFit intends to be "the country's most ambitious fitness brand".

To do that, India's most successful cricket captain will have to flex his muscles against several strong national chains such as Gold's Gym, Talwalkars, FitnessOne and Snap Fitness. SportsFit gyms may also open a new avenue for brands that Dhoni endorses.Despite India's back-to-back series losses in England and Australia and a recent slump in cricket's popularity, marketers continue to bet on the 30-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman.The cricketer endorses 23 brands, including Reebok, Pepsi, Aircel and Dabur.Dhoni's endorsement fee ranges from Rs 4-8 crore per year, making him the most expensive cricketer. Pandey's Rhiti Sports - which manages Dhoni's endorsements, brand associations, patents and digital rights, images, visibility on social networking sites and merchandise - has surpassed the 210-crore minimum guarantee in its three-year contract with Dhoni signed in 2010.