The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suffered a significant financial blow when it lost Dream11 as its primary sponsor after the Online Gaming Bill was approved by the government one week ago. This has led to the well-known fantasy sports website leaving its position as the sponsor of the Indian cricket team early. The arrangement was worth INR 358 crore when it was signed. But according to reports, the BCCI is aiming to find a new sponsor.
Currently, the BCCI is looking for a sponsor before the Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025, which starts on September 9. Additionally, India Women and Sri Lanka will co-host the Women’s ODI World Cup beginning on September 30. As a result, the nation’s top cricket organization is having a hard time integrating a new lead sponsor.
The arrangement with the new primary sponsor might cost an incredible INR 450 crore, according to NDTV. This is more than 25% more than the deal with Dream11, which terminated around a year ahead of the three-year term that was initially agreed upon. According to insiders, the Indian squad will receive INR 3.5 crore for each bilateral encounter for about 140 games until 2028, whereas international competitions will bring in INR 1.5 crore every match.
India eye defending Asia Cup
The Indian men’s team, led by Suryakumar Yadav, will head into the continental tournament with a formidable lineup. They are also the reigning champions as they won the last tournament in 2023 which was played in the 50-over format. Along with some strong oppositions like Pakistan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, the Men in Blue have been placed in Group A of the upcoming tournament.
They will be taking on Oman for the first time in a match on September 10 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Suryakumar Yadav’s team will lock horns with bitter rivals Pakistan in the show piece at Dubai in four days. On September 19, they will take on the UAE at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi for the conclusion of the matches of their Asia Cup league stage.
India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy
