Adidas named new India cricket team kit sponsor

The deal with the global sportswear brand is expected to be for five years. BCCI is still in discussions to find a jersey sponsor

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Monday that Adidas will be the new kit sponsor of the Indian team.

Killer had taken over the kit sponsorship from MPL (Getty Images)

“I'm pleased to announce @BCCI's partnership with @adidas as a kit sponsor. We are committed to growing the game of cricket and could not be more excited to partner with one of the world’s leading sportswear brands. Welcome aboard, @adidas,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted.

Although no more details were provided, it is learnt that it is a five-year deal. The financials are known to be not too different from the ₹65 lakh per match previous sponsor, gaming company MPL, paid BCCI, and fashion brand Killer, which currently holds the stop-gap rights, is paying.

Hunt on for Byju's replacement

The board is still in negotiations with two companies that can take over as jersey sponsors of the Indian team to replace Byju’s, whose contract expired in March. “In case we are unable to find a long-term partner, we will be making a stop-gap arrangement,” a BCCI official said.

The deal could even be limited to the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the three home ODIs to follow against Afghanistan in June.

Indian cricket’s jersey sponsorship has been in some flux since Byju's, their former ed tech partner, found itself facing financial crunch following global economic slowdown.

In 2019, Byju's took over BCCI sponsorship from Oppo - it was paying Rs. 1,079 crore (Rs. 4.61 crore per bilateral match and ₹1.56 crore per ICC match) for five years - till March 2022. This deal was extended in June 2022 and was on to continue till November 2023 before adverse market conditions set in.