Current sponsors Star India not to bid for Team India jersey sponsorship

What’s the story?

Current sponsors of the Team India jersey, Star India won’t be joining the race for the next round of bidding for sponsorship rights of the Team India jersey due to “lack of clarity” regarding the future of the game. Speaking to The Times of India, Star India CEO Uday Shankar said: “We have been very proud that our name is carried on the jersey of Team India. But given all the uncertainties, we have decided not to bid for it again. The commitments being asked for are too onerous without any clarity”.

In case you didn’t know…

The current deal between Star India and BCCI expires in March 2017, right after the ongoing India-Australia tour, following which the Board is expected to take out tenders for sponsorship of Team India. The new sponsors will reflect in the logos of the senior, as well as junior and women’s jerseys later this year. If market experts are to be believed, a number of digital sponsors are expected to be in the playing field for the bid.

The heart of the matter

The Star India CEO has stated that the primary reason why the current sponsors are not joining the race once again is due to no “consensual leadership”, primarily because of the lack of clarity between the ICC and BCCI’s individual stands, which he believes has hampered the game’s development recently. Due to the fact that the media house has invested heavily in the Indian team over the course of its association (around a billion dollars), the risks involved with another venture during such troubled times will be high.

What’s next?

The Indian team is expected to get a new logo sponsor before the Champions Trophy, which is scheduled to start on the 1st of June. Having taken sponsorship rights from Sahara in December 2013, Star India conceded that given there is no clarity over the “Future Tours Program”, a schedule that ascertains the future fixtures of all teams by the ICC, the media company will do heavy deliberations before joining hands with BCCI again.

Sportskeeda’s take

With Star India withdrawing from the competition, the scales tilts in favour of Paytm, one of India’s largest mobile payment portals, and the current title sponsor with the BCCI. Another strong contender in the race is Reliance, having been pitching Jio services throughout the country with their free cellular and data services. However, Star India’s decision will come as a big shock to the BCCI, who is already in a mess due to its strained relation with the ICC.