Is Indian cricket team set to get a new sponsor?

Is the Indian cricket team set to find a new brand replacing the current one Oppo? If market sources are to be believed, the Chinese smartphone brand is working on to off-load the deal to another brand. This creates the possibility of the Men in Blue getting a new sponsor next year. Oppo, in fact, has learnt to approach the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for approval to pass on the contract to a new brand.

Oppo, which is owned by BBK Industries, took over as the sponsor of the Indian cricket team in 2017. There was even controversy in some quarters then over a Chinese firm taking over the sponsorship of one of the country’s premier sporting outfit since India shares a competitive relationship with the northern neighbours.

According to a report on InsideSport, a digital tech start-up is said to have agreed in principle to replace Oppo as the Indian cricket team’s sponsor. However, the final call on the deal is yet to be confirmed.

Oppo’s contract came into effect in March 2017

Oppo’s contract was made at INR 1,079 crore in March 2017 for a period of 5 years and it had won the bid over Vivo’s INR 768 crore offer. The company is currently paying Rs 4.61 crore a match for series and tournaments that are hosted by national cricket boards. The fee per match for an International Cricket Council (ICC) or Asian Cricket Council event is Rs 1.56 core.

This is by far the best deal for the Indian cricket team’s sponsorship, surpassing Sahara India’s INR 3.34 crore offer paid in 2012-13. After Sahara’s exit, it was BCCI’s broadcast partner Star Sports that had sponsored the team at INR 1.92 crore per international match other than the ICC and ACC competitions.

The contract comes with strong binding clauses that impose heavy fines if the brand fails to honour its contractual obligations. But Oppo can get away if it can get another brand on similar terms to the Indian cricket board, sources were cited as saying. Oppo will finish their third one-year cycle in 2020.

InsideSport said BCCI CEO Rahul Johri was asked for clarification but he neither confirmed nor denied the development. Even Oppo had not come with a response after being approached.