Royal Challengers Bangalore, an IPL team, and Qatar Airlines have agreed to a 75 crore INR sponsorship deal. Qatar Airways will serve as Royal Challengers Bangalore’s headline sponsor for the upcoming three seasons.
It’s reportedly the second-biggest sponsorship contract in the history of the IPL.
Recently, Qatar Airlines appointed Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone as their global brand ambassador. Muthoot FinCorp, one of India’s top NBFCs, will no longer serve as the primary sponsor of the third-most popular Indian Premier League team thanks to Qatar Airways (IPL). When the agreement was signed, RCB’s shirt will now include the Qatar Airlines emblem on the front.
The announcement will be made in a few weeks after the deal has been inked. The largest transaction for RCB ever, it’s worth 75 crore for three years, according to a source who spoke to Mint on the condition of anonymity.
The most successful franchise in the competition, the five-time champion Mumbai Indians (MI), secured a comparable three-year deal with FinTech company Slice in 2022 for more than INR 90 crore. Prior to the Slice agreement, the second-most successful IPL team, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who have won four titles, struck a three-year agreement worth more than INR 70 crore with TVS Group’s Eurogrip.
Despite failing to take home an IPL trophy in any of the tournament’s 15 seasons, RCB is praised for the value of its brand and has a sizable fan base. “This is also the power of Brand Virat on display to a good extent,” experts claim.
IPL 2023 will start on March 31.
The opening match of IPL 16 will feature the Gujarat Titans (GT) versus CSK, the defending champions. On April 2, RCB will face the Mumbai Indians (MI) in their home stadium, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, to open their season.
Reece Topley, a left-arm seamer, cost RCB a hefty INR 1.9 crore at the IPL 2023 auction. They also recruited Will Jacks, a batsman, for INR 3.2 crore to bolster their batting. Avinash Singh, Rajan Kumar, Himanshu Sharma, and Manoj Bhandage are just a few of the local talent they added.