MUMBAI: CricFig Private Limited, a London-based cricket memorabilia manufacturer, was confirmed on Saturday as the official figurine partner for three teams in the IPL 2019 – Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).
First of its kind in India, these memorabilia are miniature figurines of the franchises’ popular cricket stars and can be proud possession of millions of fans in the country and abroad.
CricFig CTO Dineshkumar S stated: “It gives us immense pleasure to come on board as the official licensed figurine partner of KKR, KXIP and RR. Sports merchandising is an emerging market in India and we see a huge potential for it to grow in the coming years. The global sports merchandising industry is set to grow by $ 5.9 billion from 2018-2022 and that’s definitely a big positive for us. I would like to thank Dinesh (Karthik) and (Ravichandran) Ashwin who have joined us to launch the figurines today. I am sure this will be an added asset for millions of cricket fans not only in India but in every corner of the globe.”
KXIP captain and Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said at the launch: “This is a first-of-its-kind. I have grown up collecting action figures of my favorite heroes in movies and comics. Seeing a figure of myself here is almost a dream come true for me. I am truly humbled by this and wish CricFig all the best for the future.”
KKR skipper and wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik added: “This is unique, and I am honoured, to say the least. We have grown up collecting miniatures of our heroes and super heroes like Batman, Spiderman and Superman. I never thought that one day I will be part of that (laughs). It will give cricket fans so much more to possess and cherish. I wish, if only I could have collected such memorabilia when I was a child. I am sure I will have quite a few in my room as I am a big fan of some of my current and former colleagues like Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. I really want to thank CricFig from the bottom of my heart.”
Rajasthan Royals executive chairman Ranjit Barthakur commented on the development as well: “We are thrilled to be a part of this fresh take on cricket memorabilia that CricFig has brought to us. It is undoubtedly going to get the players just as excited as their fans! It’s a new season with new ventures and opportunities for the team and we’re excited to extend it to the fans.”
CricFig Private Limited have their presence in India and Sri Lanka too, besides England. The company has plans to expand further to Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and South Africa in the near future.
