MPL new apparel sponsor of Indian cricket team
New Delhi: Fantasy gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) has been picked as the apparel sponsor of the Indian cricket team for a period of three years.
A member of the Apex Council confirmed the development on Monday that BCCI has inked the apparel and merchandise deal with MPL, replacing Nike.
"Yes, Apex Council has passed the sponsorship deal for the apparel of Indian team (men, women, A and U19).
"However the rate per match will be Rs 65 lakh per game instead of Rs 88 lakh that Nike was giving," the senior official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
While Puma and Adidas had earlier picked up the bid papers for apparel sponsorship, they didn't fill the bid as they felt that the deal needed to be reduced to one third from the original bid.
Nike had a five-year deal during which they paid Rs 370 crore from 2016 to 2020 with a 30 crore royalty.
"No sporting apparel major was ready to pay that kind of money that Nike paid in the current economic climate (due to COVID-19).
"One of the major reasons being merchandise items being very costly for common public," the source said.
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Congress misleading public on National Herald case, matter still in court: BJP
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress of running misleading propaganda over the trial court's decision in the National Herald case and said the court refused to take cognisance of the complaint but did not set aside the case.
The case is still pending trial in the Delhi High Court, and the trial court in its order on Tuesday said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can continue its investigation, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia asserted.
"The court yesterday (Tuesday) said that since it is a private complaint and no FIR has been lodged, it will not take cognizance of it. It's a technical matter. The court also said that ED can continue its investigation further. The court did not set it aside," Bhatia told a press conference at the BJP headquarters here
"Its trial is still going on. Sonia Gandhi is still Accused Number-1 and Rahul Gandhi Accused Number-2," the BJP spokesperson said, alleging, "The Gandhi family thrives on deceit, deception, and propaganda."
