IPL 2021 sponsor and popular online payment brand in line to bag massive ICC deals

With the pandemic forcing the postponement of a full set of events in 2020, the International Cricket Council is now gearing up to host an unprecedented number of tournaments from 2021 onwards. With a jam-packed schedule ahead of them — the most major of which are the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021 and the World Test Championship finals — the ICC has also attracted a whole host of new sponsors for the upcoming season. This huge increase in sponsorship can be explained by the boom in sports audiences over the lockdown and the fact that at least two of the three major ICC events for this season will be hosted by India.

Upstox, BharatPe to join Dream11 as official ICC sponsors from 2021

With the Indian Men's team qualifying for the inaugural World Test Championship finals set for June this year and the Men's T20 World Cup set to be held in India from October to November 2021, Indian companies are jostling for the few precious sponsorship deals the ICC still has to offer. The multi-million dollar deals give brands a chance to tap into the millions of viewers around the world that are expected to tune into the games. One of the earliest into the foray was the Indian fantasy sports team company Dream11, which signed a five-year deal with the ICC in 2019. 

According to InsideSport.co, the online trading company and potential IPL 2021 sponsor, Upstox is also in talks to sign on as a sponsor with the ICC, though none of these deals have been confirmed yet. Online Payments company BharatPe — which already has Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Shubhman Gill advertising for them — is also in the middle of a deal with the body. Furthermore, Indian team sponsors, Byju's has also inked a deal with the ICC.

Postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the T20 World Cup 2021 is now starting in October 2021. The organisation will also host the Women’s ODI World Cup in New Zealand from March-April 2022. There will also be a Men's T20 World Cup held in Australia in 2022.

IPL schedule 2021

After extensive discussions, the BCCI has confirmed that the IPL 2021 will be held in India from April 9 to May 30. The board has also released the IPL schedule for this season and confirmed that the first match will be held between the defending champions Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore at Chennai. The playoffs and finals of the tournament will all be held at the new stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad. 

Image Credits: ICC website