Reports | BCCI to ‘relook’ kit sponsorship deal after awarding rights to MPL

Yesterday, Sportstar reported that the BCCI has finally managed to find a bidder for the apparel rights of the Indian cricket team, albeit with a lower price than what they got in the previous four-year-deal from Nike. In 2016, Nike had signed a fresh five-year deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India during which they paid Rs 370 crore from with a Rs 30 crore royalty.

It was a deviation from the norm as Mobile Premier League (MPL) taking over the rights was a first in Indian cricket where a brand not associated with sporting apparel owned the rights to Indian cricket’s jerseys across formats and across groups. In terms of that, industry resources, as reported by ToI, lashed out at BCCI for the lack of transparency and called for a fair deal which the BCCI is reportedly contemplating on.

ToI reported that companies who did not come to the bidding table for lack of clarity will be writing to the BCCI, seeking how the sudden change in the bid was implemented without keeping the industry in the notice. There is also a direct conflict according to the ITT guidelines because MPL is a fantasy gaming platform operated by Bangalore-based company Galactus Funware Technology Pvt Ltd which is a rival of other BCCI partners.

The BCCI haven’t released the MPL as the official partner yet and are expected to take a call on it soon.