MUMBAI: India’s fastest growing mobile eSports platform, the Mobile Premier League (MPL), Monday announced that Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli will be its first ever brand ambassador. Kohli will participate in a series of multi-channel marketing and promotional activities for the brand.
While financial terms were not discosed, MPL has reportedly signed the Indian cricket captain for Rs 120 million, some serious money for a platform that is just 10 months into the business.
And while Kohli is currently India’s top brand endorser in sports by a long mile, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the number 2 in the rankings has been the face of Dream11, the country’s leading fantasy gaming platform (by an even longer mile), since 2018.
MPL is the leader in the competitive mobile gaming space where users get to participate in a range of games and compete against over tens of thousands of players in tournaments. Users can access several of India’s most loved mobile games on the platform, which hosts both tournament and 1v1 style player formats.
The company’s profile had risen further in the latter half of 2018 when Indonesian tech company GoJek and American venture capital firm Sequoia Capital had invested $30 million and $5 million respectively in its Series A round of funding.
“eSports brings people together and breaks barriers of age and region, often empowering and encouraging those who play it. I am extremely happy to associate with an exciting young brand like MPL, that is making mobile eSports so accessible to Indians across the country,” Kohli commented on the development.
MPL CEO and co-founder Sai Srinivas Kiran added: “Virat is an inspiration to many Indians- young and old. His focus and dedication to developing his skills as a sportsperson and the never-say-die attitude he brings to everything that he does, has resonated well with fans around the world and with our brand. MPL believes that everyone can be a winner like Virat, and through our association with him, we hope to make mobile eSports more accessible to people across the country.”
eSports has been gaining momentum in the Indian market with the proliferation of mobile phones and affordable data plans. According to a Forbes report, the Indian mobile gaming industry is estimated to grow to over $1.1 billion and 600 million users by 2020. Localised content, easy and affordable access and enablement of mobile payments have contributed to the rise of the sector.
