Cricket News: Byju's and MPL want out of BCCI sponsorship and what it means for Indian cricket
When news broke that two of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) sponsors, Byju's and MPL wanted out of their deals with the board, it was safe to say a lot of people were in shock.
BCCIAfter all, Byju's are the teams' main shirt sponsors, and MPL are the teams' jersey designers.
These aren't just any business partners; these are the companies whose affiliation with Indian cricket is front and centre of the national team.
"BCCI received an email from Byju's on 4.11.2022 requesting the terminating of the association post the recently concluded T20 World Cup," read a BCCI note.
"As per our discussions with Byju's, we have asked them to continue the current arrangement and continue the partnership until at least 31.3.2023."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">According to reports, Byju's and MPL want to end their sponsorship deals with BCCI early, as the contracts are set to expire at the end of year 2023<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Byjus?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Byjus</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MPL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MPL</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCCI?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BCCI</a> |<a href="https://t.co/EjQfoL0G0P">https://t.co/EjQfoL0G0P</a> <a href="https://t.co/fdV9iX2KDp">pic.twitter.com/fdV9iX2KDp</a></p>— DNA (@dna) <a href="https://twitter.com/dna/status/1605867971833761793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
There was another note on MPL's desire to end the sponsorship early. "BCCI received an email communication from MPL Sports on 21.12.2022 seeking a complete assignment (team merchandising) at a total value to Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited, a fashion wear brand, for the period of 1.12.2023 to 31.12.2023.
"With the upcoming back-to-back home series and the women's away calendar, it was suggested that the current arrangement should be maintained as it involves performance gear for the national teams."
"We have asked MPL sports to continue the association at least until 31.3.2023 or look for a partial assignment that would only involve the right chest logo but not the kit manufacturing agreement."
This is a significant blow for the BCCI, mainly because cricket have been seen as recession-proof in India.
But the reason India had startups like Byju's and MPL sponsoring them in the first place was due to the unwillingness of big companies to pay the BCCI what they felt they were owed.
The MPL sponsorship came about because Nike ended their association with the Indian cricket team, which was seen as a significant blow given Nike's standing in world sport.
Byju's deal is different since Oppo got replaced as the title sponsor due to India's strained relations with China and the fallout from that.
But it is telling that Byju's, are reportedly paying about 10% more than Oppo did and amid a massive cash crunch, is not seeing this as a value-for-money deal.
Even MPL have had to lay off people, although not to the extent that Byju's did.
But the fact is that in a post-2020 world, angel funding is a lot more work to come by.
Therefore, even startups need to be wise with their money – and won't just burn through cash in the hopes of getting attention.
And so, the BCCI finds itself in a position wherein two significant sponsors are doing all they can to leave. Of course, this will only affect the BCCI since they will find other sponsors.
But they might have to settle for sums of money that are less than their lofty expectations – something which has never happened before in recent history.