Delhi: Finally, after a long effort, the Indian Cricket Board has got a new title sponsor. There are two facts involved in this matter: firstly, a long effort and secondly, a new title sponsor. The new sponsor is Muthoot Fincorp, which has got the title rights of India's domestic cricket for the next two seasons and is expected to play about 35 international matches by March 2028. This search was not easy this time and the truth is that till the last date given by BCCI for sponsor to bid, no one was actually found.

Got sponsor, but not at the price fixed by BCCI

Similarly, BCCI is also not getting the amount it expected from the sponsor. BCCI had decided that the sponsor will have to pay at least Rs 4.85 crore per match for these rights. Previous sponsor IDFC First Bank was getting Rs 4.2 crore per match, but considering the popularity of Indian cricket, but without recognizing the changing mood of the market, BCCI had increased the price per match by about 15.5 percent but no one was found to pay this amount.

Cricket market could not even get the reserve price of Rs 4.85 crore

BCCI has not yet given information about the sponsorship price per match in the new sponsor contract, but it has accepted that far from getting more, even the minimum price that was fixed is not being received. According to BCCI sources, the deal with Muthoot Fincorp has been done for Rs 4.35 crore per match i.e. less than the reserve price. What this clearly means is that even if the popularity of the Indian team is claimed to have skyrocketed, the mood of the market is to spend money on cricket only to a limited extent.

BCCI kept waiting for claimants, no one came till 13th August

Thus, the conclusion is that the world's richest and most influential cricket board could not find a sponsor to pay even the minimum fixed price. The truth is that BCCI had even decided that if there are more contenders to become a sponsor, then they can also go on the bidding system. This never came to fruition and till the last date of 13th August, not a single contender came forward. Eventually, BCCI itself shortlisted the sponsors and talked to them which included Google, Google Gemini, IDFC First Bank, Spinny and SBI Life. SBI eventually became an associate partner instead of the title sponsor. There was a time when there was competition in the market for the rights of title sponsor of BCCI.

Rights for 35 matches, but how much will BCCI earn?

Around 35 international matches are expected to be played in the two-year rights sold by BCCI (10 Tests, 12 ODIs and 13 T20 Internationals). If BCCI had got the reserve price of Rs 4.85 crore, it would have received approximately Rs 170 crore from the rights of these matches. In comparison, IDFC First Bank gave approximately Rs 231 crore from 55 international matches in three years in the previous agreement, i.e. Rs 4.2 crore per match.

The price is higher than the previous deal, hence BCCI is not accepting the value fall.

In this way, compared to the previous contract, BCCI is still getting more money per match from the sponsor. Therefore, BCCI is not ready to accept that the value of Indian cricket has fallen. It is also worth noting that for the next two domestic seasons, BCCI has added CAMPA, SBI Life and ChatGPT as associate partners. The total deal value is more than Rs 130 crore and this is 44 percent more than the amount received from the associate partner in the previous cycle. Thus, overall the account is not a matter of concern for BCCI.

Companies want to be associated with cricket, but now not at any cost

The mood of the market indicates that the desire to be associated with Indian cricket is still there, but looking at the way the title rights were sold, it can be said that now companies are taking a more thoughtful decision on cricket as well, how much money to pay? According to the sports valuation report of WPP Media, India's sports economy is worth Rs 18,864 crore, in which cricket's share is 89 percent. Therefore, Indian cricket continues to dominate the country's sports market but this dominance does not mean that every sponsorship property will continue to command ever-increasing prices.

New agreement started with West Indies series, many big series to come

The contract with Muthoot Fincorp has started with the series against West Indies. Incidentally, the first ODI of this series was on 27th September in Thiruvananthapuram and this group is from Kochi. This contract will also include 5 test series against Australia in 2027 and against England in 2028.