BCCI Seeks Title Sponsor for Indian Cricket's Home Season
The most marketable team in world cricket is walking into a new home season without a title sponsor on its chest — and the clock has already ticked well past the deadline.
More than two weeks after bids were due, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is still haggling across the table, holding direct talks with a shortlist of heavyweights. Google Gemini, SBI Life, IDFC First Bank and Spinny are among the names in the room as Indian cricket’s most visible commercial property remains officially unsold.
A sponsor hunt with guardrails
This isn’t a simple auction to the highest bidder. BCCI has drawn thick red lines around several categories, shutting the door on entire industries for this cycle.
Tyre companies, paint brands and sports apparel makers have all been told they cannot even enter the race. They join the usual prohibited sectors — tobacco, liquor, fantasy gaming and gambling — in the “no-go” column.
The formal Invitation to Tender (ITT) spells it out in black and white. Any bidder “engaged directly or indirectly in the tyres, tubes and flaps industry” is barred. The wording goes further: if a group company is involved in manufacturing, marketing, distributing or selling tyres, tubes or flaps, the entire group is out.
The same hard line applies to “athleisure wear, performance wear, and sports merchandise and equipment,” as well as “paints, waterproofing and wallpapers.” Those players are not permitted to submit a bid.
The message is clear. This is a ring-fence around existing partners.
Apollo Tyres currently sits on the front of the India jersey as lead sponsor. Adidas supplies the kit. Asian Paints is an Associate Partner of the board. The tender conditions effectively shield those relationships from direct conflict.
The collateral damage is obvious: brands like MRF, CEAT, Berger Paints, JSW Paints, Nike, Puma and Decathlon are automatically ruled out. There is no suggestion they were preparing to bid, but BCCI has moved pre-emptively to keep them away from the table.
What exactly is on sale?
Behind the legal language lies a fairly tight commercial package.
For the purpose of this tender, BCCI “presently expects” to host around 35 “Chargeable Matches” during the rights period. That figure is an estimate, not a guarantee, and the board stresses it can change the schedule at its “sole and absolute discretion.”
Chargeable Matches cover international fixtures involving the India Senior Men’s National Team in bilateral series or events staged by BCCI. They do not include:
- Any domestic matches,
- Any fixtures that are part of ACC Events or ICC Events,
- Any international match played by the India senior women’s national team.
In simple terms, the sponsor is buying into India men’s home internationals that BCCI controls directly, not global events or women’s cricket.
The reserve price is set at INR 4,85,00,000 per Chargeable Match — 4.85 crore rupees as the starting point for every game. Multiply that by the projected 35 matches and the baseline value of the deal quickly moves into serious territory.
Only big, clean balance sheets need apply
BCCI is also tightening the financial filter on who can come through the door.
The ITT makes it explicit that bids from individuals, unincorporated entities, consortia, joint ventures or joint bidders will not be entertained. The board wants a single, incorporated entity fronting the deal, with no loose ends.
On top of that, there is a stiff financial bar. Each bidder must show, over the last three audited financial years, either:
- An average turnover of at least INR 100 crores, or
- An average net worth of at least INR 100 crores.
Only those who clear one of these thresholds can even think about putting their name on India’s fixtures.
A premium property, still on the shelf
So the situation is unusual. The most-watched team in the sport has a live tender, a clear reserve price and a defined inventory of around 35 men’s internationals. The board has drawn strong protective lines around Apollo Tyres, Adidas and Asian Paints, cut out several powerful sectors, and demanded deep pockets and clean structures from anyone interested.
Now it comes down to whether brands like Google Gemini, SBI Life, IDFC First Bank and Spinny are willing to meet that price and step into the space at the heart of Indian cricket’s calendar — or whether BCCI will have to keep waiting for the right logo to match its most prized asset.
