Video: Mumbai Indians gift custom jersey to WWE Champion Jinder Mahal

What’s the story?

After WWE COO, Triple H sent a customised WWE Championship belt to the reigning IPL champions Mumbai Indians, the IPL side have returned the favour by sending a custom Mumbai Indians jersey to reigning WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. After received the jersey that had the number 5 on the back, The Maharaja thanked the IPL side for their gift.

He said: "Hello India, this is your WWE champion Jinder Mahal and I want to send a big thank you to the Mumbai Indians for sending me this custom jersey with my name on it. And I will wear it with pride."

Before he signed off with MI's slogan "Cricket meri jaan" that translates into, “Cricket is my life.”

. @JinderMahal has a special message for @mipaltan. #CricketMeriJaan pic.twitter.com/AX4hX2w5lN

— WWE (@WWEIndia) July 20, 2017

In case you didn’t know...

Mumbai Indians became the first team to win three IPL titles, a feat they achieved when they beat Rising Pune Supergiant by one run in the thrilling IPL 2017 final held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. In the process, Rohit Sharma also became the first player to win four IPL titles (three with Mumbai Indians and one with Deccan Chargers in 2009) and first captain to win three IPL titles.

Soon after that Triple H sent out a tweet to Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma, promising the WWE Championship belt following their triumph, which followed their title wins in IPL 2013 and IPL 2015.

.@MIPaltan @ImRo45 as promised, the @WWE Title is on its way... Congratulations! @WWEIndia pic.twitter.com/Zkq3bSmPah

— Triple H (@TripleH) July 13, 2017

The Details

Jinder Mahal became the 50th WWE Champion after defeating Randy Orton at Backlash. He returned to the WWE in 2016 after being released in 2014. He will once again face The Viper at Battleground PPV this Sunday in a Punjabi Prison match.

Extra cover: WWE COO Triple H congratulates Mumbai Indians and sends them a gift

Parallels from history

While Mumbai Indians sending out their jersey to the reigning WWE Champion is something new, this wasn't the first instance of the WWE trying to expand their fan base by sending a customised WWE championship belt.

In fact, when Golden State Warriors won the NBA Finals by beating Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this year, Triple H congratulated the side and also sent them a customised WWE belt with the team's logo. And he did the same thing after Chelsea won the 2016/17 Premier League title as well.

Author’s Take

While it is clear that the initial gift sent by Triple H was a way to expand WWE's market in India, it was thoughtful of Mumbai Indians to return the favour and send a customised jersey to the reigning WWE Champion Jinder Mahal.

While it might just be another marketing ploy, the fact that both sides have been incredibly gracious in their efforts to congratulate one another will only enhance their reputation and earn them more fans.