Adidas is Team India’s new series sponsor | Cricket

The sporting goods giant will transfer from Killer in June with a five-year contract. “The fine print of the deal is being prepared. But the value is set to go up,” a BCCI official said.

Killer, a lesser-known clothing brand, took over the series sponsorship from MPL, who wanted to end their contract that runs until the end of 2023. MPL was paid by the Government of India ₹65 lakh per match and ₹9 million in royalties for a three-year contract.

Mainly jeans makers Killer’s deal with BCCI is for five months, which market experts call a win-win situation for the brand.

“Imagine they benefit from Virat Kohli, who is a Puma athlete, and Rohit Sharma, an Adidas athlete, with this association,” said a senior industry executive. “No wonder Killer is happy to extend his contract to April-May, which are basically IPL months when the Indian team isn’t even there.”

It is understood that Killer was ready to extend the deal, but the BCCI wanted the renowned global sports manufacturer on board.

Adidas made the first bid to sponsor the Indian team in 2006, but came third in a closed auction to Reebok and eventual winners Nike. Nike extended its partnership with Indian cricket many times; it last paid BCCI ₹85 lakh per match and royalty ₹30 million.

In early 2020, before the pandemic broke out, Nike took a roughly U-turn in its focus on India. Sponsorship of the Indian team also proved too expensive in a market where the sale of fake jerseys is common.

BCCI then went in search of established brands, but market forces agreed with Nike and no one wanted to go along with the asking price. That’s when MPL presented a revised value, which was essentially a marketing agreement for its eSports and gaming business. Unable to sustain high sponsorship costs, it wrote to the BCCI in late 2022 that it wanted out.

Finally, the Indian cricket team, featuring the game’s biggest stars, has regained a much-needed kit provider in Adidas, sponsors of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Arsenal.

Under the Future Tours program (2023-27), India will play 141 matches – 38 Tests, 42 ODIs and 61 T20Is. They will also participate in two ODI World Cups, two T20 World Cups and the Champions Trophy.