National, 25th May, 2026 - Angel One Limited, India's intelligent investing companion and Official Associate Partner of the Tata IPL (2024–2028), with The Viral Fever (TVF), has co-created 12th Man, marking a first-of-its-kind original microdrama by a leading broking platform. Starring Anshuman Rai, the 15-episode series has been rolled out on the Instagram handles of Angel One, TVF, and Micronama, built natively for the short-form, mobile-first content habits of young India.
More than a content initiative, 12th Man reflects Angel One's bold approach to building cultural relevance through contemporary storytelling. As microdramas emerge as a multi-billion-dollar content category globally, Angel One is among the first brands in the broking category to strategically adopt the format in India, redefining how financial brands connect with younger audiences by participating in their culture.
At its heart, 12th Man follows Mohit Kumar, once talented enough to play Ranji cricket before a career-ending injury pulled him out of contention. Unable to return to the playing XI, he stays around the game as the perennial "12th man", carrying drinks and watching opportunities pass him by, until, with time, his environment inspires him to contribute to the game differently.
Through Mohit's journey, 12th Man explores the emotional reality of people who feel like spectators in their own lives, asking: what if the bench is where life teaches you the most? The story ultimately reflects Angel One’s larger vision of empowering young India with the confidence, clarity, and tools to move forward and realise their ambitions.
Zameer Kochar, Chief Marketing Officer, Angel One, said, “12th Man is a story about resilience and quiet self-belief, qualities we see in young India every day. We chose the microdrama format because it reflects how this generation engages with stories today, and we partnered with TVF because few storytellers understand this audience as instinctively as they do. Our goal was simple, to create something people don't just watch, but truly feel.”
Vijay Koshy, President, TVF, added, “At TVF, we’ve always believed that stories find new forms as audiences evolve. With Micronama and 12th Man, we wanted to explore a storytelling format that feels native to today’s mobile-first generation while still retaining emotional depth and relatability. Partnering with Angel One on this has been exciting because they approached the idea not just as a brand integration exercise, but as a genuine story rooted in aspiration, resilience, and youth culture."
This is also not the first time Angel One has reimagined how brands participate in cricket culture. Earlier this IPL season, the company launched Cricket Park, a first-of-its-kind cricket amusement park experience that invited fans to step off the screen and back into the game themselves. This immersive cricket-led experience held at TSG Sports Arena in Mumbai brought together around 300 attendees, including India’s top digital creators and cricket enthusiasts, to rediscover the joy of playing the game.
With 12th Man, Angel One continues to expand its role in cricket culture, moving beyond sponsorships to create stories and experiences that emotionally resonate with young India. Nearly three decades into its journey, Angel One remains reinventing how it shows up for a new generation, moving fluidly across sponsorships, on-ground activations like Cricket Park, and now original storytelling, a deliberate playbook to stay modern and culturally fluent with every new wave of young India.
