Published 17:03 IST, August 19th 2020
Virat Kohli-endorsed MPL named principal sponsor for KKR in IPL 2020, TKR in CPL 2020
Virat Kohli has been MPL's brand ambassador since Mar 2019. MPL is looking to cricket for its growth, much like its older rivals Dream11, the IPL 2020 sponsors.
The Knight Riders family recently bagged a double whammy of sorts with a new Indian sponsor for both of their franchises in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2020) as well as the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) tournament. Esports and mobile gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) has been named the principal sponsor for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as well as its sister team in the West Indies, Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) for the 2020 seasons of the IPL and CPL respectively.
All you need to know about MPL
The Bengaluru-based MPL is an online gaming platform that consists of numerous games, quiz, virtual sports and more. This gaming app offers real cash prizes for playing your favourite mobile games. MPL is currently being endorsed by Team India skipper Virat Kohli, who signed up with the Esports and mobile gaming platform as its brand ambassador in March 2019. While the duration of the contract was for one year, both MPL and Virat Kohli reportedly renewed their association for another year.
KKR CEO tweets on the deal with MPL
Dream11 onboard with IPL 2020 as title sponsors
MPL seems to be looking for a larger space in the global cricket market more so after IPL chairman Brijesh Patel on Tuesday revealed that online fantasy gaming giants Dream11 are set to be confirmed officially as the IPL 2020 title sponsors. The IPL Dream11 deal is reported to be ₹222 crore, outbidding BJYU's, who had bid for ₹201 crore and UnAcademy for ₹171 crore. Dream11 is already a big name in the world of cricket as they are not only associated with at least six IPL teams for IPL 2020 but also with the International Cricket Council as its official partner.
IPL 2020 and CPL 2020 schedule
The CPL 2020 is currently underway and will conclude on September 10 in Trinidad. Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) already got their campaign underway with a win over Guyana Amazon Warriors on Tuesday. On the other hand, the IPL 2020 is scheduled to start on September 19 in UAE and conclude on November 10.
Virat Kohli set to lead RCB in IPL 2020
While MPL will sponsor KKR, Virat Kohli will be back on the field in a couple of weeks as he will be leading Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL 2020. The IPL 2020 which was scheduled for March 29 start was postponed by BCCI due to COVID-19. The BCCI then decided to reschedule the tournament from September 19 until November 10 after the World T20 was cancelled by ICC recently.
(COVER IMAGE: KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS / TWITTER)
Updated 17:03 IST, August 19th 2020