Air Sahara has emerged as the new sponsor for the Indian cricket
team after bidding an amount of Rs.313.80 crores. This amount
is for a four year period beginning January 2006. The deal
covers 44 tests and 110 ODIs. Another 50 days of cricket may
be added over the next four years, raising the sponsorship
value, in the process.
Lalit Modi, vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket
in India, said that the he deal covers 44 tests and 110 ODIs.
Another 50 days of cricket may be added over the next four
years, raising the sponsorship value, in the process.
Until last month the Sahara group was the team sponsor at
Rs78.10 crore with the deal including non-leading-arm sponsorship.
This new sponsorship is for leading-arm and chest. Non-leading-arm
sponsorship is yet to be decided.
A new tender for television rights for the next four years
would be announced by the year end. BCCI is awaiting clear
guidelines including whether sharing of cricket feed with
public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is mandatory, Lalit Modi
was quoted as having said.
Eleven companies tried bidding for sponsoring the team.
Six of them qualified to bid. Of these five companies tendered
bids.
Among the losing bidders were Idea (Rs286 crore), Reliance
Infocomm (Rs257 crore), Indian Oil (Rs255.9 crore), and Airtel
(Rs251 crore).
