MPL Sports replaces Nike as Indian cricket team's kit sponsor

MPL Sports Apparel and Accessories, a subsidiary of the fantasy gaming platform Mobile Premier League, has replaced Nike as the kit sponsor of the Indian national cricket team.

An Apex Council member confirmed the development to news agency PTI on Monday and said that BCCI, the top cricketing body in India, has signed an apparel and merchandise deal with MPL. The deal is for a period of three years, ending November 2023.

“Yes, the Apex Council has passed the sponsorship deal for apparel of Indian team (men, women, A and U19). However, the rate per match will be ₹65 lakh instead of ₹88 lakh that Nike was giving,” the senior official told the agency on conditions of anonymity.

It is learnt that BCCI will also get 10 per cent of the royalty from the sale of merchandise. “MPL has formed an apparel manufacturing company. They will also pay an amount for merchandise contract. The deal will end in November, 2023,” the source added.

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While Puma and Adidas had earlier picked up the bid papers for apparel sponsorship, they stayed away as they felt that the deal needed to be reduced to one-third of the original bid price.

Nike had a five year deal during which they paid ₹370 crore from 2016 to 2020 with a 30 crore royalty.

“No sporting apparel major was ready to pay that kind of money that Nike had paid in the current economic climate (in the wake of COVID-19). One of the major reasons being merchandise items are very costly for common public,” the source said.

MPL is currently associated with two IPL franchises (KKR and RCB), one CPL franchise (TKR) and the cricket boards of Ireland and the UAE.

(With inputs from agencies)