KKCL to be sponsor for the Men in Blue till May

With the deal in place, team India’s jersey will use the Killer logo till 31 May 2023.

MPL was the kit sponsor for the Indian team since November 2020, and its contract was supposed to end in December 2023. As part of the terms of the deal, MPL was supposed to pay ₹65 lakh per match and ₹3 crore a year to the BCCI as the merchandise partner. However, the company was looking for a replacement since last year as it found it challenging to continue with the deal.

Though BCCI was not very keen to reassign the rights, it agreed to sign KKCL after MPL refused to continue.

Interestingly, KKCL has got a limited assignment, and the team will only use its logo, and MPL will continue as the kit manufacturing partner.

KKCL is a listed retail company, which also owns brands such as Integriti, Lawmanpg3, Easies, and Desi Belle. Its flagship brand Killer has been part of on-ground branding initiatives during cricket matches.

“It is a matter of immense pride for us to be on the India jersey,” said Hemant Jain, joint managing director, KKCL. “As a homegrown brand, we are excited to be offered an opportunity to showcase ourselves on one of the most prestigious assets in world sport.”

ITW Catalyst facilitated the deal with the BCCI.

This is not the first reassignment of sponsorship rights for the BCCI recently. Last year, Paytm decided to end its four-year partnership with the board, as its total sponsor, and the rights were assigned to Mastercard at the same value ( ₹3.8 crore per match).

Even Biju’s the jersey sponsor for team India, which had got the rights reassigned from Oppo, is looking at terminating the deal mid-way, but the BCCI hasn’t agreed to it yet.