The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially announced Mastercard as India’s title sponsor for all Team India’s games and domestic cricket overtaking Paytm. It is believed that the rights have been reassigned at the same price of Rs. 3.8Cr per match.
Mr Jay Shah, BCCI secretary said, “The BCCI is pleased to associate with a global marquee brand – Mastercard. We are in for an exciting period in Indian Cricket as we have Australia and South Africa coming over for white-ball series before the T20 World Cup and Sri Lanka, New Zealand and the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy early next year while domestic cricket has a packed calendar with the return of the Duleep Trophy and a full-fledged Ranji Trophy season. The 2022-23 season will witness a lot of action across age groups and I am confident that this will be an enriching partnership.”
The arrangement sees Mastercard as the title sponsor for all international matches across both men’s and women’s series held on home ground. Alongside international games, Mastercard will also sponsor domestic cricket matches such as the Irani Trophy, the Duleep Trophy, and the Ranji Trophy organized by the BCCI as also all junior; Under 19 and Under 23 matches which will be held in India.
BCCI President, Mr Sourav Ganguly said, “The BCCI welcomes Mastercard as the Title Sponsor for home cricket matches for the 2022-23 season. Along with the international home series, the BCCI’s domestic tournaments are crucial as they are a stepping stone towards making India a strong international side. The BCCI truly values Mastercard’s support in building Indian cricket.”
Paytm had signed the deal for ₹326.80 crores back in 2019 which is supposed to continue till 2023. The winning bid was ₹3.80 crore per match and was at a 58% increased value in comparison to the previous per match value of ₹2.4 crores. In 2015, Paytm for the 1st time became the title sponsor of Indian cricket.
PayTM in July had requested BCCI to assign the rights to Mastercard and the BCCI on the 5th of September officially announced the same accepting PayTm’s request.
Former India skipper, MS Dhoni who is the brand ambassador over a four years contract on the deal said, “Cricket has been my life and given me everything I have. I am thrilled that Mastercard is sponsoring all the home cricket matches of the BCCI, and especially the domestic, junior and women’s cricket. The Ranji and junior players of today will play for the country tomorrow and continue to embody the pride of 1.3 billion Indians.”
Mastercard’s deal will come into life on the international scene starting with the home series against Australia and South Africa. The Indian domestic schedule gets underway on September the 8th with the Duleep Trophy and that is when Mastercard will first feature in the domestic fabrics.
