Adidas and Puma to bid for Team India kit sponsorship rights

As Nike’s almost one and a half-decade long contract with BCCI is coming to an end, the news is all over the place about who is going to be the next sponsor. The global giant, Nike had also proposed to extend the contract as they did in 2016 but BCCI has denied it. With India becoming a preferred choice to invest in global companies, cricket is always a great prospect.

Adidas, Nike’s rival company is also in line to get the kit sponsor rights and also becoming the official merchandising partner of the ‘Men in Blue’. The second-largest producer of sportswear is ready to bid in the upcoming deal signing. The BCCI has however reduced the minimum base price by 30% to 61 lakh per game from the previous 88 lakh per game which Nike was paying.

A good sign for BCCI to deepen their pockets

According to a report published in Times of India, Puma, a rival of both Adidas and Nike has also shown their interest in grabbing the same rights. The German company has always shown a great interest in Indian cricket, with its enormous presence in the Indian Premier League the favorite baby of BCCI. The Indian skipper is also a brand ambassador for them and has signed a contract for INR 100 crores. With three sportswear giants in the game to grab the same deal, it could be called a good sign for BCCI to deepen their pockets which are highly affected due to the pandemic.

As compared to Puma, Nike and Adidas have quite less investment in the sport. Nike restructured its global operations by focussing more on developed cities, which led them to reduced investment in India. On the other hand, Adidas has negligible participation as it forfeited expensive player endorsements earlier.

Apart from the sportswear brands, Byju’s, who is already the official sponsor of BCCI, is also in line to grab the kit rights. However, as they are into education and not in manufacturing, Byju’s have to involve a kit manufacturer and form a partnership. Byju’s has shown a great interest in cricket sponsorship recently as they are one of the front runners in grabbing the IPL title rights too.