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Team India jersey rights on Apex Council agenda, BCCI may have to hard sell
With companies opting to buy the more lucrative jersey rights for IPL teams, BCCI may find it tricky to find a national sponsor at the current pricing.
For the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, during which regulars like Virat Kohli and Rishab Pant opted out and India won without breaking a sweat, Byju’s paid the BCCI ₹13.83 crores as jersey sponsorship fees.
At this prize, several brands have bagged principal jersey sponsorship rights for IPL franchises. Double this value and a little more, earns one a front of the jersey space with top draw teams like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings for a stretch of two months in the most watched league in cricket. With companies beginning to think smart, BCCI may have to hard sell its jersey sponsorship rights, with Byju’s current contract coming to an end by the end of this month. The matter is listed in the agenda for board’s Apex Council meet on Wednesday.
IPL’s phenomenal growth has been BCCI’s biggest playing card but it also runs the risk of eating into BCCI's revenue from international cricket. So far, the allure of teaming up with Team India has kept companies willing to pay a premium. In 2017, Chinese smartphone makers Oppo agreed to become Indian cricket jersey sponsors for five years, paying ₹1079 crores, double the base prize. But the pressure signs became evident when they opted out, 19 months before serving their contract. Fortunately for the BCCI, Byju’s, then a fast rising ed-tech platform saw it as an opportunity to showcase their brand and agreed to come on board on the same terms. Byju’s have since further built their cricket portfolio by becoming global partners with ICC until the 2023 ODI World Cup. It is learnt, Byju's have expressed interest to the BCCI to renew their contract.
Interestingly, Oppo-Byju’s contract value for bilateral cricket was much higher at ₹4.61 crore per match, whereas they paid only ₹1.51 crore per India match in ICC events. While the BCCI is determined to keep its revenue stream through bilateral cricket flowing – BCCI secretary Jay Shah recently said as much to Reuters, “With the IPL window expanding and the ICC events every year in the cycle, our primary responsibility is to safeguard bilateral cricket at home, with emphasis on Test cricket” – their next move to monetize the same, starting with the jersey sponsorship deal, followed by the BCCI media rights next year, will be keenly watched.
In other matters, central contracts for India’s men and women cricketers are to be ratified in the meet and venue allotment for the five-match T20I series against South Africa in June has to be decided.
