IPL 2020: BCCI ropes in CRED as official partner; Sourav Ganguly responds

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has brought in CRED as one of the official partners for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Ever since the coronavirus pandemic led to the postponement of the IPL for an indefinite time period, the BCCI has been on its toes.

From zeroing in on sponsors to hosting the tournament in the UAE, the board has had its task cut out. Back in August, the BCCI roped in education platform Unacademy, another Bengaluru based start-up, as its official partner.

Sourav Ganguly lauds his team

On Tuesday, the world’s richest cricket board took to Twitter and announced the new deal with CRED. Thereafter, Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, also appreciated the team for it’s hard work in “tough market situation”.

Well done bcci .. in this tuff market situation .. https://t.co/JMC9ptWTFN

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) September 1, 2020

On Unacademy, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel put forth the development. “We are pleased to have Unacademy on board as the ‘Official Partner’ of the Indian Premier League 2020 to 2022,” the IPL chairman had said in a release.

“IPL is the most-watched cricket league in India and as a homegrown Indian edutech company we believe that Unacademy can create a huge positive impact on the aspirations of the audience watching, especially the millions of Indian youth who are seeking inspiration in their careers,” he had added.

CRED is a credit-card company, founded by Kunal Shah and launched in 2018. In 2019, it raised funds twice and has been in the news for its rising popularity among the users. A $125 million series A round and $120 million series B funding from Sequoia, Ribbit Capital, Gemini Investments and more.

In four years, CRED has garnered a total of $175.5M in funding. On July 26, 2019, they raised funds from a Series B round, as per reports in Crunchbase. Back in August 2019, CRED was valued at a stunning $450 million.

As far as the IPL is concerned, the tournament is set to start on Saturday, September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The final is scheduled to take place on November 10, but the BCCI is yet to release the complete schedule. Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are the venues for the 53-day tournament in the gulf country.