The Indian team for years have had some stellar batsmen over the years who have made a difference to the way we’ve approached the game. They have also helped sponsors become rich by donning their stickers on their bats, thus helping in advertising.
Here are a few memorable sponsors of bats for the Indian cricket team:
1. MRF:
Probably the most iconic bat sponsor thanks to the calibre of players who carry the sticker with them. There was a time when only Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Steve Waugh had the sponsors’ stickers on their bats.
Sachin is by far the most popular player to have had the sponsor for the longest time. He played multiple memorable innings with his “MRF bat” and did wonders for the company. Now, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have MRF sponsors on their bats.
2. Britannia:
The biscuit brand had managed to get so many of the Indian cricketers to have their sticker stuck across their bats. The company at its peak had the likes of Sehwag, Laxman and Dravid play with their names on their willows.
Even Mohammad Kaif had a sponsorship with Britannia but they soon stopped sponsoring the game and ended an era.
3. Hero Honda:
The motorcycle company who were famous for their Dhak Dhak Go ads back in the day were another brand who targeted the Indian batsmen and sponsored them. Once Sehwag had not renewed his contract with Britannia, Hero Honda pounced and signed both him and Ganguly.
The duo had a very good time with the sponsor’s stickers on their bats and bought a lot of revenue in terms of recognition. Even Yuvraj Singh had the bat sponsor with him for a while and hit the six 6’s with the bat.
4. Reebok:
There was a time when Reebok was part of many young Indian cricketers’ bats and had some of them as their brand ambassadors. Most tellingly, MS Dhoni was one of the main players who were sponsored by Reebok.
Dhoni and even Gambhir were two of the mainstream players who had RBK or Reebok emblazoned on their bats. Even Uthappa and Rohit Sharma had been sponsored by the apparel brand before they stepped out.
5. SS:
Another popular cricketing brand, SS took the opportunity to sponsor some of the Indian batsmen. They are still a very popular brand in the country thanks to the good quality of their bats and some excellent marketing.
SS bats have been used by VVS Laxman for a while and even Shikhar Dhawan. They have many other international clients like Sangakkara and Pollard.
By Rohit Nair
