OPPO to be the new sponsor for Team India till 2022

The value of the Indian team’s jersey rights was decided in the Mumbai office of the Board of Control for Cricket in India earlier today. The BCCI opened bids for the jersey rights of the Team India to the four bidders in the race who were Paytm, Vivo, Oppo and DPS Bank.

Of all the contenders, BCCI announced OPPO Mobiles India Private Limited as the new team sponsor for the Indian Cricket Team. The mobile manufacturer’s association with the BCCI will start from April 2017 for a period of five years.

“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is pleased to announce OPPO Mobiles India Private Limited as the new team sponsor for the Indian Cricket Team,” the BCCI said in a statement on Tuesday

BCCI had fixed Rs 2.2 crore per match as the base price and it is still not confirmed how much money OPPO bid for. The all-time high bid of Rs 3.34 crore had come from Sahara before it ran into trouble with the BCCI management in 2012. Star, on the other hand, paid Rs 1.92 crore per match.

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Citing ‘lack of clarity’ on the game’s future as the reason for not wanting to retain rights, CEO of Star India Uday Shankar was quoted as saying by the Times of India, “We have been very proud that our name is carried on the jersey of team India. But given all the uncertainties, we have decided not to bid for it again. The commitments being asked for are too onerous without any clarity”.

Sahara passed on the role to Star India in December 2013 and Star’s logo made its debut on the Indian jersey in the tour of New Zealand in January 2014. Also, during the fifth ODI between India and New Zealand at Vishakapatnam last year, Star came up with a distinct idea of displaying the cricketers’ mothers’ names behind the jersey.