Sahara To Byju's: Sponsor Indian Cricket Team Jersey And You Are Out Of Business?

Since Indian cricket jerseys began displaying sponsor logos each brand faced its own share of challenges. Whether financial pitfalls, legal disputes, or regulatory hurdles, the sponsorship seems to have brought a streak of tough luck to brands.

Tale of Indian cricket team jersey sponsors | Mumbai Dabbawalas wear Team India jersey to support the team ahead of the T20 World Cup, in Mumbai, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

Source : PTI

The year was 1996, and India was playing the Cricket World Cup semifinal in front of the home crowd, at the biggest stadium of the time — a jam-packed Eden Gardens with a record audience exceeding 110,000. The result, however, was heartbreaking for Indian cricket fans. India's batting lineup crumbled while chasing a competitive total (by 1996 ODI standard) of 251/8 posted by Sri Lanka. What was more unfortunate was that Sri Lanka got a walkover. Concerns over players' safety, with bottles being thrown in the field around the boundary line and a fire in the stands by the upset Kolkata crowd, brought a sombre closure to the match. Sri Lanka was declared the winner as India tottered at 120/8 with Vinod Kambli and Anil Kumble at the crease. Indians would remember how painful it was to watch India disastrously lose the 1996 Wills World Cup.

Romesh Kaluwitharana whips off the bails before Sachin Tendulkar makes his ground, India v Sri Lanka, World Cup semi-final, Kolkata, March 13, 1996 [Image: Getty]

That was the last prominent memory of the Wills sponsor logo stamped on the chest of Indian cricket players. 

Indian cricket may have seen its share of ups and downs since the unfortunate 1996 outing, but when it comes to the companies that sponsored its jerseys, they only seem to have seen their fortunes going 'down'. While Wills, a cigarette brand that had also been a regular sponsor of the BCCI-powered Indian cricket team from 1993 to 2001, was lucky to escape the "curse" as it still remains a choice for smokers, a clear pattern emerged thereafter showing the companies and brands that associated themselves with the Indian cricket team jersey were not so lucky.

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From Sahara to Byju's, and now Dream11, companies that have taken on the coveted jersey sponsorship seem to share a common fate — a downward financial or legal spiral following their debut on the Indian jersey. As we examine each sponsor's trajectory, one question looms large: is this just a coincidence, or has sponsoring Team India become a jinxed affair?

Sahara: 2001 To 2013

Captain Saurav Ganguly of India with the Trophy during the match between England and India in the NatWest One Day Series Final at Lord's in London, England on July 13, 2002. [Image: Getty]

If you are a true millennial, most of your cricket memory of the Indian jersey will be stuck with the Sahara logo sprawled across the Indian cricket team's jersey. Be it the 2003 World Cup final defeat against Australia or the unfortunate early exit in the 2007 cricket World Cup, Sahara was the sponsor logo that everyone noticed. Even during the 2011 World Cup, when India finally lifted the ICC trophy, Sahara was the team jersey sponsor.

The team's performance may or may not have an impact, but the sponsoring brand Sahara had undeniable visibility all thanks to BCCI's rolling contracts for the Subrata Roy-led conglomerate. Unfortunately, all those global eyeballs could not save Sahara from a financial meltdown.

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Sahara encountered severe financial difficulties after it raised an estimated  Rs 24,000 crore from approximately 30 million investors. In June 2011, SEBI ordered Sahara to refund the amount for violating regulatory norms. In February 2013, SEBI appealed to the Supreme Court, citing Sahara’s non-compliance. SC directed Sahara to deposit Rs 10,000 crore with SEBI as partial payment. Although Sahara made partial deposits, it ultimately failed to fulfil the court’s requirement. Consequently, in February 2014, the SC issued non-bailable warrants against Subrata Roy, leading to his arrest and subsequent imprisonment in Tihar jail. While he passed away on November 14, 2023, SEBI continues efforts to recover and redistribute funds to the affected investors.

Indian skipper MS Dhoni driving the bike awarded to Man of the Match Yuvraj Singh after winning the 2nd ODI cricket match against England at in Indore on November 17, 2008. [Image: Getty]

Star India: 2014 To 2017

Between 2014 and 2017, India saw the second generation of cricketers taking over after the fabulous five (Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman) had either retired or were in their twilight years. Players like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Yuvaraj Singh had become the mainstays even as Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah made their debuts, all wearing the Star India logo across their chests on Indian cricket jerseys.

Indian Cricket Team Director Ravi Shastri addresses media during the training camp for the series against South Africa at NCA in Bengaluru. [Image: PTI]

This was also the phase when millennials and Gen-Z fans intersected in terms of accepting that a new era had entered and all the favourites millennials grew up watching were too old. Even the Sahara jerseys had changed.

All that swagger carried by Star with the sponsorship of the Indian cricket team jersey has not really helped boost their business position. Hotstar, the streaming business of Walt Disney, the parent company of Star, is being merged with Jio along with other entities. The merger will create a dominant market chunk of the combined partners, but Jio is the one driving the merger and hence will be the real controller of the deal.

Meanwhile, before the Jio-Hotstar merger, in February 2022, the Competition Commission of India launched an investigation into Star India Private Limited and its subsidiaries after allegations from Asianet Digital Network accusing Star of abusing its dominant market position. Asianet claimed that Star offered discriminatory discounts to competitors, violating the Competition Act by denying Asianet equal market access. The CCI found that Star India appeared to hold a dominant position in the relevant market and ordered a probe.

So, from being the dominant space in digital media and broadcast, after the sponsorship gig of the Indian cricket team jersey, the company has gone through a financially and legally tough time.

Oppo (2017 to 2020), Byju's (2020 to 2022) & Dream11 (2023 To Present)

The transition of Team India’s jersey sponsorship from Oppo to Byju's had been a murky affair and raised questions about the value of sponsorships on Indian cricket team jerseys.

Oppo's five-year sponsorship deal with the BCCI signed in 2017 for  Rs 1,079 crore, was terminated early due to low returns from markets for the sponsors. Amid its sponsorship struggles, Oppo also faced multiple legal challenges. 

Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni walk back to pavilion at the end of Sri Lankan innings during the 3rd One Day International cricket match between Sri Lanka and India at the Pallekele international cricket stadium at Kandy. [Image: Getty]

In 2022, Nokia took Oppo to the Delhi High Court, alleging breach of a cross-licence agreement involving 5G and other essential patents. In 2023, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court found a prima facie case of infringement against Oppo, ordering a security deposit. 

Oppo remained involved in a similar dispute with US-based InterDigital Technology over alleged infringement of patents. InterDigital launched legal actions in 2021. In February 2024, the Delhi High Court criticised Oppo for delays, mandating a deposit of unpaid royalties and imposing a Rs 5 lakh penalty.

Byju's: From Rescuer To Defaulter

Byju's stepped in as the Indian cricket team’s jersey sponsor after Oppo’s early exit, rescuing the deal in a tripartite agreement with Oppo and the BCCI.

Byju's officially took over on September 5, 2019, committing to the same financial terms Oppo had allegedly agreed to—Rs 4.61 crore per bilateral match and Rs 1.56 crore per ICC event game. Originally set to expire in March 2022, the sponsorship was later extended to June 2023.

Indian batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli run between the wickets during the Asia Cup 2022 cricket match between India and Pakistan, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, UAE. [Image: PTI]

However, in December 2023, BCCI filed a plea with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking insolvency proceedings against Byju's over an alleged Rs 158 crore payment default. The two parties later informed NCLT of reaching an agreement but the proceedings have been put on hold by SC. This is just one end of Byju's financial and legal troubles, as the Indian ed-tech unicorn right now is under scrutiny by various agencies and regulators.

Dream11 —  Uncertainty Looms

Dream11, a prominent fantasy sports platform, secured the lead sponsorship rights for the Indian cricket team’s jersey from July 2023 to March 2026, with a base bid of Rs 358 crore. The BCCI’s base price was lower than that of former sponsor Byju’s. Under the terms of the agreement, Dream11, as the lead sponsor, will feature its logo prominently on the front of the jerseys worn by India’s men’s, women’s, and U-19 cricket teams.

The BCCI previously had restricted sponsors from industries involving betting, cryptocurrency, tobacco, and certain real-money games. This has added an air of uncertainty to Dream11’s sponsorship, as the platform’s classification remains under legal review regarding its status as a skill-based, non-gambling platform.

Pune: India's captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant on the second day of the second test cricket match between India and New Zealand, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, in Pune, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. [Image: PTI]

Meanwhile, Dream11 faced scrutiny from Indian tax authorities over alleged GST evasion amounting to over Rs 1,200 crore. Tax authorities argue that Dream11 owes 28% GST on services classified as gambling. Dream11 challenged these claims in the Bombay High Court in September 2023, asserting that its platform offers games of skill rather than gambling, thus making GST on actionable claims inapplicable. In December 2023, the Maharashtra tax department withdrew its show cause notice, but Dream11 learned that the Directorate General of GST would issue a fresh notice.