The Apparel Sponsorship History of IPL

The IPL has been a huge hit since its initiation. It has never failed to bring joy on the faces of the investors. The official apparel partners are one such important entities that have been striving to establish an identity and make the team we support look great. This post explains the timeline and association of these kitmakers with the teams of IPL all along. Below is the table which demonstrates the sponsorship history for the kit manufacturers.

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The Indian Premier League was launched in 2008 and it didn’t lag in attracting the giants of the sportswear industry to sponsor its franchises. The first incarnation of the league saw three of the big players in the sports world sponsoring seven IPL teams. Reebok bagged the rights for four teams - RCB, CSK, KKR and RR while Adidas came up to manufacture kits for MI and DD. Adidas sponsored the two teams for which the captains, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were their brand ambassadors. Nike was the kit manufacturer for DC. This was Nike’s first and last relationship with the IPL. Provogue, a not-so-popular fashion brand, made kits for KXIP in 2008.

Captains after signing the MCC-SOC Pledge during the launch of Season 3 of DLF IPL in 2010.

While the sponsorship deals with RCB, CSK, MI, DD and KKR were for five years, the other three teams let go of their respective sponsors the next season. 2009 was the year that welcomed Puma into IPL with its association with RR and DC both, signing a five-year deal. Reebok terminated its RR deal which lasted for one year and replaced it with a new four-year deal with KXIP. The number of teams that Reebok sponsored was still 4 in 2009 including RCB, CSK, KKR and KXIP.

MCC Spirit of Cricket event during the launch of Season 4 of DLF IPL (2011)

Nothing changed for next two seasons. In 2011, two new teams were a part of IPL – PWI and KTK. While Adidas extended its IPL presence by bagging the deal for two years with PWI, Lotto made a deal with KTK. This lasted for a single season as KTK didn’t play further.

Captains during the MCC Spirit of Cricket Pledge at the Opening Ceremony of DLF IPL Season 5 (2012)

The association of Reebok with RCB, CSK and KKR and that of Adidas with MI and DD lasted for 5 years, ending in 2012. Adidas’ PWI 2-year deal also ended in 2012. The Reebok sponsorship was extended by and year for KKR and by two years for RCB and CSK.  Adidas also renewed the deal for two more years to MI and for one year to DD. Puma’s 5-year deal was fulfilled in 2013, however, because DC was defunct in 2013, the replacing team – SRH was awarded the last-year Puma deal. A new player - TK Sports, made its way into IPL by sponsoring KXIP and PWI the same year.

The Opening Ceremony of Season 6 of Pepsi IPL in 2013

The 2014 season of IPL witnessed three out of eight teams to play without an official kitmaker. DD, KKR and RR became sponsor-less for the season while Reebok’s RCB, CSK association and Adidas’ MI association officially ended. TK sports continued to make kits for KXIP, also bagged deal with SRH the same year in place of the defunct PWI.

Captains pose during the Pepsi IPL Season 7 Opening Ceremony in 2014

The next season of 2015 saw as much as three new sponsors for the franchises. Adidas returned to IPL by sponsoring RCB and Spartan jumped into IPL by sponsoring CSK. Both Adidas and Spartan, this time sponsored the teams which had their ambassadors – Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni as captains. The home brand of Reliance – Performax sponsored MI from 2015. Long-time sports goods manufacturer – Shiv-Naresh made a deal with DD. TK Sports launched ‘Tyka’ brand and continued to sponsor KXIP and SRH.

Captains assemble before the 2015 Pepsi IPL (Season 8) Trophy and the Bat for signing the MCC Spirit of Cricket Pledge

Till 2015, at least one international brand existed in the manufacturer line-up for the IPL teams. 2016 is the year that saw the domestic domination. No teams had a deal with any international apparel manufacturer. Two new entrants for this season were Zeven and Seven. Zeven is a new brand launched by Mahesh Bhupathi and Ravi Shastri which sponsors RCB while Seven is Dhoni’s own brand backed by Spartan that sponsors RPS, one of the two new teams. Tyka extended its presence by sponsoring the new team GL.

The captains, Rajiv Shukla (then Chairman of IPL) and Anurag Thakur (then President of BCCI)
assemble before the Vivo IPL Season 9 trophy in 2016

Why are the globally reputed manufacturers backing off from IPL? What is the reason for this domestic dominance in IPL? Is this an evidence that ‘Make in India’ is working here too? Drop in your comments below!