MUMBAI: Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar has joined an ever expanding list, suing Australian batmaker Spartan Sports over an alleged non-payment of $2 million bound by an exclusive licensing agreement.
MS Dhoni, Michael Clarke and Kevin Pietersen are among other cricketers Spartan has had on its books over the years.
Dhoni, as well as Australian Test cricketers Mitchell Johnson and Joe Burns, have all previously sued Spartan over alleged shortfalls in contract payments.
Meanwhile, Australian cricketer David Warner’s manager has told Sydney Morning Herald the star batsman plans to honour a new bat sponsorship with Spartan Sports but expects the company to pay up in full or risk more legal action.
Warner, who had a long-term deal with Gray-Nicolls before the ball-tampering scandal last year, has been using Spartan bats in his international return and used one in scoring a superb 107 against Pakistan at the World Cup in Taunton.
Coming back to Tendulkar’s suit, in Federal Court papers filed this month and reviewed by Reuters, Tendulkar said Sydney-based Spartan Sports International agreed in 2016 to pay him at least $1 million a year to use his image, logo and promotional services to sell “Sachin by Spartan” sporting goods and clothing.
The imagery included a distinctive silhouette logo on clothing and bats.
However, by September 2018, Spartan had failed to make a single payment owed, Tendulkar said, and he made a formal request for payment. When none came, he ended the agreement, asking the company to stop using his name and likeness.
Yet Spartan continued to do so, according to the documents.
Lawyers representing Tendulkar said the company has failed to make any payments due to him. Subsequently, a statutory demand for $2 million remains unpaid, the lawyers added.
The court website showed the lawsuit was filed on June 5, with the first court date in Sydney on June 26, Reuters reports.
