CSK, MI, KKR among 6 IPL franchises to bag top Indian tyre brand as official sponsor

Six teams of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which include Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals have signed a sponsorship contract with a leading off-highway tyre manufacturer, Balkrishna Industries Ltd (BKT). They are now the official IPL sponsors for these teams. Courtesy this contract, the jerseys of the six teams will bear the same logo for the upcoming IPL 2020.

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IPL sponsors: Six IPL teams to bear the same logo for IPL 2020

The Joint Managing Director of BKT, Rajiv Poddar, in a statement, said that cricket is a very popular sport in India and BKT is unstoppable when it is about contributing to sport. Poddar stated that they are pleased and excited to be a part of an event that is ardently followed in India. BKT are keen supporters of several national sports all around the globe but it is for the first time that the company would be associated with such a large-scale event post the Pro Kabaddi League. 

The statement added that all sports events are selected based on a precise strategy aiming at greater user proximity and increased brand awareness, assisted by IMG Reliance, the exclusive sports consulting agency for BKT in India.

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BKT has been collaborating for several sporting events in India including eight out of 12 teams of Pro Kabaddi (U Mumba, Patna Pirates, Puneri Paltan, Dabang Delhi, Gujarat Fortune Giants, Tamil Thalaivas, U.P Yoddha and Haryana Steelers Kabaddi) in the 2019 season. Besides Kabaddi, the off-highway tyre manufacturer company has already been promoting cricket by supporting the KFC Big Bash League (BBL) based on an agreement with Cricket Australia.

BKT has also been the title sponsor of numerous European football competitions which includes the B football league in Italy - the Serie BKT, the Ligue 2 in France and has also become the Official Global Partner of LaLiga. They have also been the official and exclusive Tyre manufacturer of the American motor show - Monster Jam, since 2014.

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CRED signs up as IPL sponsors for the upcoming IPL 2020 season

With TATA Motors and Unacademy already on board and the arrival of CRED as IPL sponsors, the BCCI has filled the minimum three sponsorship slots that were present during the IPL 2019. According to InsideSport estimates, the BCCI will earn ₹120 crore in IPL 2020 from the three partnership slots filled by Tata Motors, Unacademy and CRED. 

While speaking to InsideSport, a BCCI official said that the board is extremely pleased that they have filled two official partnership slots, which clearly shows the inherent strength of 'Brand IPL'. He added that the board's only deficit this year will be on account of title sponsorship, which was lost because of unfortunate and unprecedented circumstances.

Recently, after the Future Group pulled out as IPL sponsors and Dream11 was promoted as IPL title sponsors, the BCCI was left with two empty slots for associate sponsors of the IPL 2020. With the arrival of Unacademy and CRED, BCCI can now breathe a huge sigh of relief. Unacademy has also reportedly signed a three-year deal with the BCCI as an IPL 2020 official partner and will spend in the range of ₹120-130 crore across the 3 years.

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IMAGE COURTESY: BKT TIRES TWITTER