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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Crossing river, trekking hill voters reach polling booths to cast vote in Surguja LS constituency
Balrampur/Chhattisgarh (PTI): Enthusiastic voters reached polling booths trekking steep hilly paths, crossing a river and even on a horse to cast their votes in remote areas of the tribal-dominated Balrampur district in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, officials said.
Balrampur district falls under the Surguja Lok Sabha constituency which was among seven seats where polling was held in third and last phase of Lok Sabha elections in the state. The Surguja Lok Sabha recorded 74.59 per cent voting, as per the Turnout application.
Voters, belonging to Pahadi Korva, a particularly vulnerable tribal group, including Rajesh, Madan, Sukhu, Gopal and Nandlal, crossed a river to exercise their franchise at a polling booth in village panchayat Amera under the Samri assembly constituency, a government official said.
Similarly, electors, including Lakhan Nagesia, Sahu, Phulsai and Kalesh of Bachwar village under the Ramanujganj assembly constituency walked through hilly terrain for about two hours covering 8 kms to reach a polling booth and cast their vote, he said. A voter, Parimal Dey, reached a polling booth in Sagarpur village under the Ramanujganj assembly seat on a horse, the official said. Dey is a cattle rearer who owns 150 goats.
Two hyper sensitive polling booths -- Chunchuna and Pundag -- located in a Naxal-affected area of the district which shares border with Jharkhand, also recorded significant turnout, he said. The two booths are located in the Samri assembly constituency.
"Special security arrangements were put in place in this area to ensure peaceful voting. Voters of Chunchuna and Pudang ensured their participation in the great festival of democracy braving Naxalite threat," he said. The Chunchuna polling booth has 767 voters and it recorded 84.35 per cent turnout, while Pundag has 595 electors and it registered a turnout of 72.44 per cent till 5 pm, the official added.
