The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly raised the valuation for sponsoring the Indian cricket team, setting a new base price following Dream11’s early exit from the contract for what will be a three-year rights term.
The BCCI has reportedly set the new reserve price at Rs 3.5 crore for bilateral matches and around Rs 1.5 crore for multilateral fixtures (ICC and ACC competitions).
It bears noting that Dream11 was paying Rs 3.17 crore for bilateral games and Rs 1.12 crore for multilateral matches, so the new “base rate card” translates to a 10% upside for bilateral games and around 3% per match for multilateral tournaments.
Per Cricbuzz, the new sponsorship cycle will be for three years, with around 130 matches scheduled, including T20 World Cup in 2026 and ODI World Cup in 2027.
On Tuesday (September 2), the BCCI announced the release of the Invitation for Expression of Interest for Indian team’s Lead Sponsor Rights stating that gaming, betting, crypto and tobacco brands are prohibited from bidding. Athleisure and sportswear manufacturers, banking, financial companies, non-alcoholic cold beverages, fans, mixer grinders, safety locks and insurance companies will also not be eligible since they could be in conflict with the existing sponsors of the BCCI.
The need for a new sponsor was necessitated after the exit of Dream11, which replaced Byju’s in 2023 in a three-year deal worth Rs 358 crore. India’s dominant real money gaming company had to end its sponsorship early following the passing of the Online Gaming Act by Parliament.
