Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 runners-up Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) struck a last-minute deal with manforce, a condom company and will dawn the jersey in IPL 2015 containing an advertisement of the company, which left many players a touch shy wearing the jersey due to this.
“Manforce will figure on the back of the jerseys along with our other main sponsor Tata Prime,” team co-owner Mohit Burman said. The players blushed as the jersey was handed over to them. “I don’t know what to say, my family will be watching and it’s an embarrassing situation. Also, friends are bound to tease us,” a player said on the condition that his name will be kept anonymous. KXIP are set to face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the opening encounter of IPL 2015, according to Hindustan Times.
“We have seen such products [male contraceptives] being advertised on TV during matches, but we don’t have guidelines that limit a franchise from getting one as a team sponsor,” said Rajeev Shukla, the IPL governing council chairman.
Kings XI Punjab gained a lot of popularity after their spectacular show in the last season of the IPL and now they 20 sponsors backing their team.
“The sheer volume of male viewers, who are our target group, made a lot of business sense for creating strong brand awareness around Manforce,” Eshita, assistant product manager, Mankind, said
