The BCCI and Dream11 have jointly agreed to end the sponsorship deal. Dream11 was the lead jersey sponsor of the Indian team and signed a three-year deal in 2023 worth INR 358 crore ($44 million). They took over Byju’s, which was the lead jersey sponsor for the team in July 2019.
The Indian parliament passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, last week, which made the advertisement of fantasy gaming illegal in the country. Thus, it was already clear that the deal between the two entities might be over as soon as possible.
The Indian cricket team will next be in action in the Asia Cup 2025, which starts from Tuesday, September 9, in the UAE. India will face the UAE in their first game on Wednesday. Dream11’s exit means that the Indian cricket team doesn’t have a lead jersey sponsor as of now. If the BCCI doesn’t manage to sign a deal in the upcoming few days, the Indian team might have to play without a jersey sponsor.
BCCI To Not Engage With Any Fantasy Application In The Future
In a statement released by the BCCI, the board has made its stance clear over not working with any fantasy application in the future. “BCCI and Dream 11 are discontinuing their relationship after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, was passed. BCCI will ensure not to indulge with any such organizations ahead in the future,” the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said.
According to a report in The Indian Express, the representatives of Dream11 had visited BCCI’s office and informed the board that the company wouldn’t be able to continue being the lead jersey sponsor. “(Representatives of) Dream11 visited the BCCI office and informed CEO Hemang Amin that they won’t be able to continue… As a result, they won’t be the team’s sponsors for the Asia Cup. The BCCI will float a new tender soon,” said a BCCI official as per a report in The Indian Express.
The report further mentioned that Dream11 won’t attract any penalty because of ending the deal early. The contract that was signed by the organisation had a clause that mentioned that in case any law brought by the Government impacts the sponsor’s core business, they “won’t be liable to pay anything” to the cricket board.
This was not the first time the BCCI was in a business deal with a fantasy cricket platform. Dream Sports, parent company of Dream11, was named the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League in 2020. The organisation made a bid of INR 222 crore (USD 26 million) and beat organisations like Unacademy (INR 171 crore) and Byju’s (INR 201 crore).
My11Circle, another fantasy application, signed an INR 200-250 crore deal with JioStar this year to become the Co-Presenting Sponsor of the IPL. The fantasy gaming platform is also the official associate partner of the IPL and signed a five-year deal in 2024. The platform made a bid of INR 125 crore per year and outbid Dream11 to become the official partner. Dream11 had made a bid of INR 103 per year for the same. My11Circle was supposed to pay INR 625 crore for these rights.
However, in the current scenario, this deal might also get affected, and the BCCI will have to cut short all the ties with My11Circle.
Who Can Be The New Sponsor Of BCCI?
Potential contenders for the jersey sponsorship of the Indian team are Tata, which is the current title sponsor of IPL. Also, Jio and Adani are in the race, and new-age players like Zerodha might also be interested in having their brand logo on the Indian cricket team’s jersey.
According to a report in NDTV, as of now, two companies have come forward to become the jersey sponsor of the Men in Blue. “Toyota Motor Corporation and a Fintech start-up have all shown interest till now. However, the official tendering process has not started yet,” the report mentioned.
It is further reported that the Indian jerseys with Dream11’s logo for the Asia Cup have already been printed. However, now that the deal between BCCI and Dream11 is over, the Indian team will not wear the jerseys with Dream11’s logo on them.
Leave a Comment