BCCI announces MPL Sports as Team India's new kit sponsor

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Monday that MPL Sports will become Team India's new kit sponsor. The deal has been signed for a period of three years and is worth in excess of INR 120 crores.

The contract means that MPL Sports will replace Nike on Team India kits and merchandise. Nike has been partners with the BCCI since 2006 and was reportedly unhappy with their deal due to the ongoing pandemic. The Oregon-based company was looking for a deduction in the price.

BCCI's deal with MPL Sports will last from November 2020 to December 2023 and the Indian cricket board is set to earn INR 65 lakhs per game over this period.

"Yes, we have signed a deal with MPL that is effective from November 2020 till December 2023. The kit sponsorship amount is Rs 65 lakh per match while merchandising is Rs 3 crore per year for the three year period. With that royalty will be 10 percent of net sales per season," a BCCI Apex Council member told ANI.

Team India's first challenge in the post-COVID era is the tour of Australia

India is set to go on a lengthy tour to Australia later this month

After a gap of more than six months, the Men in Blue will finally be back on the field and their first assignment will be the tour of Australia. The tour will begin on November 27 with the ODI series. The first ODI match will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The three ODIs will be followed by three T20Is and four Tests which will end on January 19, 2021. The last time India toured Australia, they drew the T20I series 1-1 and won the ODI and Test series 2-1 each.

That Australian team, however, was missing the services of their two best batsmen in Steve Smith and David Warner and thus were supposedly not at their strongest.

But this time around, with both Smith and Warner fit and available, India's tour of Australia promises to be an absolute humdinger. Both sides are set to give it their all once again.