Apparel Sponsorship History of IPL - From 2008 To 2018

Here is an update for the chart I posted previously, here.

Click for Enlarged Image

The 11th season of IPL that concluded recently saw no newcomers to the league of kitmakers. Zeven and Performax continued to manufacture apparel for RCB and MI respectively while T10 Sports added KXIP to their bouquet this year continuing their association with DD from last season.

Tyka, while continuing with SRH, signed a new deal with RR for manufacturing their kits. KKR still does not have an official jersey maker and Dhoni owned Seven brand now sponsors CSK.

Captains pose behind the IPL-11 trophy during a photoshoot 

The current league of kit manufacturers hasn't changed much from the previous season. Major international sportswear companies are still a no-show. Though this has enabled the Indian brands to cash in the opportunities in the cash-rich league, they have failed to capture the market because of greed. The jerseys and fanwear that are made available to the public for purchase are extremely overpriced for the quality being offered.

The global biggies like Adidas, Puma, Nike and New Balance would only be interested in IPL if the clothing regulations are reviewed. No big company would be willing to sponsor these teams unless they get their rightful slot on the jerseys that would promise visibility and recognition.

Prediction on RCB's 2018 Jerseys!

As I do every season, here is my prediction on the RCB jerseys for the 2018 season of the Indian Premier League! This prediction bases my previous post on the RCB's Brand House which itself is based on the branding for the stands taken from the stadium layout sourced from the ticketing portal.

As stated earlier, Zeven continues its association as the kit manufacturer for RCB and it is likely that the design from the last two seasons will remain unchanged. The illustration below depicts what the jerseys might look like in my opinion.

Potential RCB Jerseys for 2018

The front branding would either be Eros Now or HP. One of the two will have the spot on the right chest. There is also a possibility of these two brands switching places for home and away jerseys as shown in the illustration above.

According to my prediction, the following will be the slot-share for the associated brands.

• Front - Eros Now / HP
• Right Chest - Eros Now / HP
• Leading Arm Upper - Jio Telecom
• Non-Leading Arm Upper - Domino's Pizza
• Non-Leading Arm Lower - Duroflex Mattresses
• Back - Duraguard Cement

The RCB logo will be on the left chest; the VIVO IPL logo will have its mandatory lower leading arm spot. Apart from these, Zeven and 7UP will be seen on leading limb and non-leading limb of the trousers respectively.

'The Royal Attire' series will resume after the jerseys are officially unveiled! Stay tuned!

Disclaimer: None of these sponsors have been announced officially by the RCB. Please note that the article relies majorly on my guesswork and possibilities exist that would render all the above information false.

The RCB Brand House of 2018!

The tickets for RCB's home matches are on sale from this moment. (Click here and book right away!) However, the motto of this blog is not to serve as an advertising media and here I slip to the focus of the blog! As usual, the layout of the stands in the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is displayed in the ticketing portal and the stands have been named after the sponsors of RCB for this season. Have a look below.

Layout of M Chinnaswamy Stadium

The followings brands are associated with the stands in Chinnaswamy.
A Stand - Eros Now
B Upper - Jio
B Lower - Jio
C Upper (Grand Terrace) - HP
C Lower - Duraguard
D Corporate - Wrogn
E Executive - Duraguard
G Upper - Duroflex
G Lower - Dominos
M1 Stand - Dominos
M2 Stand - Jio
M3 Stand - Wrogn
M4 Stand - Duroflex
N Stand - Eros Now
P1 Annex - Eros Now
P1 Stand - Eros Now
P2 - Eros Now
P3 - Eros Now
P Terrace - HP
P Corporate - Duraguard

While Jio and Duroflex Mattresses have remained to be associated with RCB as well as the stands they are named after, there are a lot of newcomers to the house. With Eros Now and HP branding linked with the majority of the stands in the stadium, it is highly likely that one of these will end up as a principal sponsor and takes the prominent real estate on the front of RCB jersey with another going to the chest spot. Dominos is another new entrant which will most likely decorate the upper spot on the non-leading arm.

Duraguard Cement branding will don the back of RCB jerseys this season.

As reported earlier, Duraguard Cement will don the back of RCB jerseys and Wrogn will be seen on the players' headgear once again. Zeven continues its association with RCB as the official kit-maker. 7UP is also likely to remain in the RCB Brand House for 2018.

Stay tuned for BrandCricket Prediction for 2018 RCB jersey!

Disclaimer: None of these sponsors have been announced officially by the RCB. Please note that the article relies majorly on my guesswork and possibilities exist that would render all the above information false.

Daredevils unveil new kits for 2018

Delhi Daredevils have unveiled their new strips for the new season which actually lacks anything that's 'new'. The quality of the design has been declining season to season for DD and this year is not an exception. Starting the IPL in 2008 with one of the best attires, the GMR owned team has gradually minimized all its efforts on the visual aspects of the playing clothing leading to this season's (so far) pathetic jersey as seen below.

Players pose with the 2018 Delhi Daredevils jersey

Sports goods manufacturer Shiv-Naresh has probably ended its deal with DD and the current manufacturer for the playing kits is unknown as of now. The design is repetitive with no changes to the base of past few years' jerseys. The collar part is changed, making the jersey look poorer.

'Daikin' has continued its association with DD and their logo dons the central part of the jersey. 'Jio Telecom' also continues to sponsor DD in some capacity and the logo which is now changed to blue from last year's red, rests on the upper leading arm instead of last year's right chest while the IPL logo sits on the lower leading arm. The franchise owner GMR Holdings have decided to show off their own logo on the lower non-leading arm while the upper slot on the non-leading arm remains empty as of now.

New sponsor 'Suzuki Gixxer' has been awkwardly placed on the right chest while the newly simplified 'DD' logo of the team is placed on the usual left part of the chest. Another new sponsor, Cargill India's brand 'Nature Fresh' is prominently displayed on the back of the jersey.

Gautam Gambhir, the newly announced skipper of DD

Brand Cricket Verdict: The jersey could have been loads better in my opinion. Sticking to the same base design (though not being liked by many) is not a good approach. The oldest black and red jersey by Adidas still remains my favorite for DD. Cricket teams should basically root on symmetric jersey designs rather than asymmetric ones like this one.

Brand Cricket Jersey Score: 4 on 10

Stay tuned for more updates on all IPL jerseys for 2018.

Update (13th March 2018): The kit manufacturer is learnt to be T10 sports, the same company that made kits for Delhi Daredevils last year. Here is a tweet from the manufacturer.

Here comes the captain .! Back to home@DelhiDaredevils is all set to give his best in IPL 2018, and we Delhiites are the backbone of Daredevils Team.

Be the twelfth man of Delhi Daredevils team, Wear Official Player jersey with Your name, Available only at @t10sports #ipl2018 https://t.co/uA29IoiLCt

— T10 Sports (@t10sports) March 12, 2018

CSK's possible 'new' attire for 2018

CSK has returned to the IPL after two years and has 'retained'... yes, you guessed it! The jersey design. The most consistent element in the IPL so far are the batsman insignia in the IPL logo and CSK's jersey design. The yellow jersey which has been the same from since forever has returned with some new sponsors with the main one being 'The Muthoot Group' which has replaced Aircel's 8-year-long spot on the belly. The mock-up for the 'new' jersey has been posted by the twitter handle of 'Equitas Small Finance Bank' and it looks like this.

The above mock-up might not be completely true to what the final jersey would be; we might see a change in the design (which we hope every season) depending on what the CSK management decides.

With reference to this jersey shown, the following are the sponsors that claim the real estate on the clothing:

• The Muthoot Group (Belly)
• Gulf Oil (Right Chest)
• Equitas Small Finance Bank (Upper Leading Arm)
• Hyderabad Industries Limited (Upper Non-Leading Arm)
• Nippon Paints (Lower Non-Leading Arm)
• India Cements (Back)

If my assumption is correct, Spartan will be back to continue its association with CSK for manufacturing the official kits. M S Dhoni's own 'Seven' brand (which is supported by Spartan) might be labelled as the official kit supplier for CSK in 2018. 

Stay tuned for more updates on all IPL jerseys for 2018. Exclusive info on RCB jersey to follow soon!

Original Tweet:

Get ready to whistle! The fun has started again, this time with our very own @ChennaiIPL . We are happy to announce that Equitas Small Finance Bank is now the proud sponsor of Chennai Super Kings! Stay tuned to our page for more updates. #BackWithTheBank #Equitas #CSK pic.twitter.com/JtuZMHpwBI

— EquitasBank (@EquitasBank) January 26, 2018

Apparel Sponsorship History of IPL - The First Ten Years

This post will act as a supplement to the post I made earlier in May 2016. (Read it here!) I have made a better chart this time which you can see below.

Click for Enlarged Image

Everything about apparel sponsorships in the first nine seasons was explained in the article I have previously posted and I will be speaking only about the 10th season in this post. There were no major changes to the manufacturers' line up this year for the teams. RCB and MI continued their associations with Zeven and Performax respectively while Tyka reduced the number of teams it sponsored in the last season from 3 to 2 (KXIP and SRH) with GL signing a deal with Sasperil Greenlands (SG). DD also signed a new manufacturer - T10 Sports for making its kits.

Two teams did not have any official apparel sponsor in this season; KKR continued not to have a kitmaker while RPS did not continue with Seven, the brand owned by MS Dhoni.

Captains align behind the IPL-10 trophy and the Bats signed for MCC's Spirit Cricket Pledge at the Opening Ceremony

With a decade of IPL gone, new and exciting things await the fans from the 11th season taking place in 2018. I expect huge changes to take place in the next season with international players in the apparel industry making way once again into the IPL arena. With two suspended teams returning, it would be interesting to see what their brand-strategy would be for their return.

What changes in the branding and apparel would you like to see in the next season of IPL? Drop in your comments below!

The Tenth Year of the RCB's Jersey! (Episode 10 : 2017)

Before my blog gets buried deep in the internet of things, I am officially returning on this and making the fifth post of this year today! This was something that had to be posted during the IPL this year but has been delayed to this point where we are only four months away from the start of the next season. Before getting into the exciting mood of new things that are bound to happen in the eleventh season, let's get back to the tenth anniversary of IPL that happened in 2017.

The team in Home apparel for 2017.

As usual, I tried to predict the jersey design for this year in the blog post I wrote in March of this year before IPL-10 started. (Read it here!) The prediction turned out to be 'almost true' with the retention of Zeven's base design of 2016; Gionee making its way to the belly and an unaltered Kingfisher logo on the back. Though the other sponsors were accurate in the prediction, the placement and colour masks of the logos on the sleeves slightly changed in the real one.

THE HOME JERSEY

THE AWAY JERSEY

As you can notice and I predicted, Gionee acquired the spotlight this year with their logo placed on the prominent front part of the jersey. The IPL 10th anniversary logo was given its mandatory slot on the sleeve and surprisingly, Britannia's very long association saw an end this year. The slot used by Britannia was taken by Duroflex Mattresses in this season.

Virat Kohli and AB DeVilliers in Away jerseys.

LYF+ Smartphone was replaced by Jio Telecom, a flagship brand from the same parent company. Two versions of Jio logo have been used on the jerseys, the one with red background on the Home and Game for Green jersey and the one with blue background on the Away jersey. As stated earlier, Kingfisher and Lloyd continue to enjoy their real estate on the right-chest and the back of the jersey respectively.

The Game for Green jersey remained very similar to the Home attire only with the primary colour changed to a lighter shade of green. Also, the twitter handles of the players which were used on the green jerseys traditionally by RCB were dropped and replaced with actual names similar to other games in this season.

The team in the green apparel for 2017.

Apart from jerseys, there were no changes in the trousers with Zeven and 7UP retaining their slots. The headgear continued to display Himalaya Men logo on one side while a new entrant WROGN, Virat Kohli's own brand made its way to the back of the caps replacing Acer from last year.

The team in the Home jersey for 2017.

This season was hugely disappointing for the ardent fanbase of RCB. I would call it '10 Years of Badluck' and eagerly hope for the next season to be ours! Massive changes are expected to happen for the 2018 season for the team as well as the tournament. I expect lots of changes on the RCB jerseys too, with a huge possibility of change in the apparel sponsor as well.

Stay tuned for more! 

Official Sponsors & Partners of RCB for 2017

The corporate backing of RCB for 2017 has been unveiled on the official website. Have a look below.

The 2017 batch of sponsors and partners for RCB.

Founding Partner: United Spirits Limited
Principal Partners: Gionee Smartphones, Lloyd Air Conditioners, Kingfisher Premium
Associate Partners: Jio Telecom, Karnataka Jungle Lodges & Resorts, Himalaya Men, Duroflex Mattresses, Gatorade, Wrogn, Zeven, Boost, 7UP, Tissot Watchers, Radio Mirchi, DNA Networks

Stands at M Chinnaswamy Stadium have been named after few of these brands and I had previously noted this in this post. I took a further step and predicted the RCB Jerseys for 2017 using the sponsors featured on stadium stands and illustrated it in my last post.

As per this official list updated on the official website, the brands that get their share of real estate on playing jerseys may include the following.

Belly: Gionee
Chest: Lloyd Air Conditioners
Back: Kingfisher
Leading Arm 1: Jio
Leading Arm 2: IPL Logo
Non-Leading Arm 1: Karnataka Jungle Lodges & Resorts
Non-Leading Arm 2: Duroflex Mattresses
Leading Leg: 7UP / Gatorade / Wrogn / Boost
Non-Leading Leg: Zeven
Headgear: Himalaya Men

Prediction on RCB's 2017 Jerseys!

Following my previous post on the new sponsors which were guessed based on the naming of stands at Chinnaswamy stadium, I now present my predictions on the RCB Jerseys for 2017. What's changed and what's retained? Read on.

Zeven is manufacturing the jerseys for the second year and the home-away system would continue. The system is likely to be adopted by the other teams this time. As noted previously, we might have Gionee Smartphones on the belly while Lloyd Air Conditioners would retain the chest area.

As usual, the IPL tournament logo will go on the leading arm. This season's logo is a commemorative logo made to celebrate a decade of IPL.

The 10th Year Anniversary Logo.

The possible new entrants Jio Telecom, Duroflex Mattresses and Karnataka Tourism's Jungle Lodges & Resorts branding might get their slots on arms along with the IPL logo. The back would remain unchanged, featuring the Kingfisher branding.

Check my predictions for home and away jerseys below:

The possible RCB home jersey for 2017.

The possible RCB away jersey for 2017.

A new episode in 'The Royal Attire' series will come up soon once the launch officially takes place before the start of the season. Stay tuned!

Disclaimer: None of these sponsors have been announced officially by the RCB. Please note that the article relies majorly on my guesswork and possibilities exist that would render all the above information false.

Who's in the RCB Brand House for IPL10?

The tickets for RCB's home matches went on sale a couple of days ago and the portal to book the tickets displays the map below. It is noticeable that the stands at Chinnaswamy Stadium have been named after brands which could be nothing but the RCB's sponsors' batch of 2017!

Layout of M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

As you've noticed, we have Gionee, the Chinese smartphone maker in house this time, probably going as a main sponsor on the jersey! The A Stand, P1 Annexe, P1 Stand, P2 Stand are named after Gionee. At this moment, I have no news about Gionee's disassociation with KKR.

We also have Jio, the telecom company that took the whole nation by storm. Jio appears on B Upper, B Lower and M2 Stand. Last year's association with LYF Smartphones+  appears to be replaced with Jio; the same might be making its way on the sleeves of RCB, MI and RPS jerseys.

We can also notice Duroflex Mattresses on M4 Stand and G Upper Stand, which probably might have replaced Britannia slot on the jersey.

Another interesting observation is the naming of G1 Stand Lower, G2 Stand Lower and M1 Stand after Karnataka Jungle Lodges. The Karnataka Tourism Department might be sponsoring RCB for the 2017 season, probably getting featured on the jersey as well. As there is no news on Tata Motors continuing as a sponsor, I pick the slot Tata Bolt and Tata Zest were previously featured on to get replaced with Jungle Lodges & Resorts.

Apart from these newcomers, the past brands that continue their association with RCB include Kingfisher (named on E Executive Lounge, P Corporate, C Upper and C Lower) which goes on the back of the jersey, Lloyd Air Conditioners (named on Pavilion P3, Pavilion Terrace and Fan Terrace N) which would featured on chest and Himalaya Men (named on D Corporate and M3 Stand) which would be seen on the headgear.

Zeven is manufacturing the apparel again as per the two-year contract and would get featured on the trouser on one side while the slot on the other side might be taken up by 7-UP for this year too.

I am expecting all these brands on which the stands have been named after to get their share of real estate on the jersey. Stay tuned for my final prediction and illustration of the jerseys!

Disclaimer: None of these sponsors have been announced officially by the RCB. Please note that the article relies majorly on my guesswork and possibilities exist that would render all the above information false.

Video: The Evolution of RCB Jerseys from 2008 to 2016

Did you know that RCB has used 19 jerseys in the past 9 years? I have been writing about all the jerseys that the RCB has used since its launch. I have made a small video about the same for those who prefer watching to reading and here it is!

If you liked watching this video and if this helped you go nostalgic, subscribe my youtube channel for exclusive updates!

I am participating in the RCB's Bold Crew contest and I request you to help me win it! Only thing you have to do is VOTE! Just create an account and vote me!

Here is the link: https://www.royalchallengers.com/boldarmy/20577

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.

Click for Enlarged Image

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!

A New Livery for the Royal Attire! (Episode 9 : 2016)

The new season is here and everything about RCB looks very fresh and new too! Firstly, my apologies that I kept you waiting this long. Though I had wished to write about RCB’s visual treats for 2016 long ago, few of my commitments hijacked my blogging time. Anyways, here is the much-awaited episode of the RCB Jersey Evolution!

My blog had previously tried to figure out what the jersey would look like for this season of the IPL and many of my predictions did not come true. However, those which actually turned out to be true were the introduction of ‘Home’ and ‘Away’ system with two separate jerseys and the placement of few sponsor logos.

The Jersey Launch

This season will witness maximum changes on the RCB jersey compared to the previous ones. Adidas is no longer the kitmaker for RCB and it has been replaced by Zeven, a newcomer to the arena. Zeven is a sports goods manufacturer with the greats like Mahesh Bhupathi and Ravi Shastri in its corporate unit.

The jerseys have a totally refreshing look with black and red donning the maximum area. Gold has been used only for piping and blue has been completely eliminated. This new look has been designed by Michael Foley, well-known among the sportswear designers. The home and away jerseys swap primary and secondary colours excepting the collar which remains same for both. Interestingly, the sides beneath the arms and the extended patching on the trousers with the black design on home apparel turn grey on the away strips, not red. The names and numbers for the players are printed in gold, which is the only gold-dominant area, unlike previous designs.

THE HOME JERSEY

THE AWAY JERSEY

Moving to the commercial part, Huawei which rested on the belly spot has gone and has been replaced by Hero Cycles. I am not a fan of the white background this logo contains. I feel the logo should’ve been white with no background. The chest area is held by Lloyd Air Conditioners, another newbie to the RCB family. Britannia and Tata Motors (now as Zest) continue to place themselves on the sleeves while LYF Smartphones is another new addition on the sleeve. Kingfisher, as usual, dons the back but has nothing below it unlike previous seasons’ ‘Packaged Drinking Water’ (2014) and ‘Premium’ (2015). Few players do not endorse the liquor brand due to religious reasons however, packaged drinking water would’ve avoided this! The jersey maker Zeven and 7UP are seen on trousers while Acer and Himalaya Mens’ (initially ‘Pimple?’) are placed on the headgear.

Team RCB in 2016.

EDIT: SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2016
The 'Game for Green' jersey wasn't very different except for the primary colour being green. The only change was the usage of black colour for name and numbers instead of the usual gold. As always, twitter handles of the players were used in the place of names at the back. The team used did not use the green caps for unknown reasons and played with usual red caps. The batting and keeping gear was red as opposed to previous seasons' gold variants.

This season's green match was an absolute blinder with numerous unforgettable moments. The dangerous duo of Ab deVilliers and Virat Kohli scoring centuries each and RCB winning the match with a mammoth run margin.

The heroes of the RCB's Go Green match of 2016.

Stay tuned for a new series on Indian Jerseys!

The content from my blog get featured on RCB's social presence!

The jersey launch took place yesterday and I was honored to be a part of the launch. I shall be writing in detail about the jersey launch and RCB's #BoldArmy Boot Camp in my next post. The illustrations that I have posted on my blog have been featured on RCB's official Facebook page and on Twitter. I feel very happy about this! 

This is the content!

   

Over the years we’ve seen some sleek and bold jerseys on Challengers! How do you think the next one will look? Catch the launch of our new jersey LIVE on FB today at 7PM! #PlayBold

Posted by Royal Challengers Bangalore on 7 April 2016

Before the launch, head to Twitter and flaunt the RCB kits you own. Match tickets and jerseys to be won #PlayBold

Posted by Royal Challengers Bangalore on 7 April 2016

As we buck up for #IPL9, we bid adieu to the old jersey. But the latest one is going to be better and bolder! Catch our jersey launch LIVE tomorrow at 7 PM! #PlayBold

Posted by Royal Challengers Bangalore on 6 April 2016

We bid our old jersey adieu but the new one is better & bolder! Catch our jersey launch LIVE tomorrow at 7PM! pic.twitter.com/2FLXCnToRM

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 6, 2016

Before the launch, here's your chance to flaunt the RCB kits you own. Match tickets and jerseys to be won #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/jDZWsAZZDw

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 7, 2016

How do you think the next jersey will look? Catch the launch of our new kit LIVE on Periscope at 7PM! #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/B1IO3rWHs7

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 7, 2016

2008- Fresh from the Indian U-19 team Virat Kohli joined us. Send us your selfies in the 2008 RCB Jersey. #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/UC3IeOG9Pj

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 7, 2016

First century by an Indian came from the bat of an RCB player in 2009. Have the Jersey he wore that year? #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/Nh1g0lqNBl

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 7, 2016

2010- The emergence of Virat Kohli as a top order batsman began! Were you in love with Kohli already ? #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/CwBjztJmz7

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 7, 2016

The year when Gayle, AB and Kohli helped RCB top the league table. Send us your selfies in the 2011 kit. #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/Lm5JfsaOah

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 7, 2016

Gaylestorm wiped away every opposition this year. Got the 2012 Jersey, anyone? #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/FbJn3Pv5RR

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 7, 2016

2013 - Gayle tore apart record books with his innings of 175 runs off 66 #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/3jgg1n8MkY

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 7, 2016

In this year Virat Kohli was named as the captain, do you have Kohli’s 2014 jersey? #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/GEDgFKph9m

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 7, 2016

This was the year when we chased 81 runs in less than 6 overs #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/DT60kBKxGS

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 7, 2016

Huawei out, Nags returns and a #Bold Prediction!

Tomorrow is the official launch of the RCB Jersey for 2016. However, I am here to provide a final update on the prediction. It appears that Honor or Huawei may have discontinued their sponsorship deal and might not get featured on the jerseys. The footer on the RCB website which displays the sponsors do not show Huawei. Hero Cycles is listed next to the USL which means, they are the principal sponsors. It also makes me think they have reserved their spot on the jerseys.

Meanwhile, Mr.Nags has come back to RCB camp and here is the first video if the 'Insider' series for 2016.

The video blurs out the previous sponsors, thus clearing that they aren't being a part of the RCB family this year. Notice the blurring of Huawei on Nags' jersey.

Also, in this tweet by RCB, the sponsor logos on the jersey have been photoshopped and removed.

.@NagsMr is back - bolder & hell-bent on befriending the new Challengers who’ve joined us for #IPL9! #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/JMQpBdqSp9

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 5, 2016

The Final Prediction
This is my final prediction before the official launch of the jersey. There is a possibility that Kingfisher would still be at the back and 'Acer Computers' might take the place of 'LYF Smartphones' on the sleeves as seen below. Most of the other things might be same.

A bold prediction!

What do you think? Would my design be close to the official one? Will I be surprised? I'll reveal it within next 24 hours! Stay tuned!

The fresh new batch of sponsors for 2016

The new team of sponsors have been listed on the official website of RCB and they are as follows.

The 2016 batch of sponsors and partners for RCB.

Now, this makes me predict one of the sleeve and back sponsor that I couldn't in my previous post.

I guess 'Hero Cycles' or 'Kingfisher' would get the back slot. The one of the three sleeve advertisement would be 'LYF Smartphone' or Hero, if it doesn't get the back. 'Acer' is also a contender for the sleeve spot.

The trousers would get '7UP' and the caps and helmets might get 'Pimple', 'Ola' or 'Zeven'.

Final Predictions on RCB's 2016 Uniforms

This is a final attempt at predicting the RCB uniform for 2016 season of the Vivo Indian Premier League. I though of giving a go at designing this after my previous post where I have talked about the jersey icons featured on the official fantasy league of IPL. These predictions are based on the icons as well as the previously released promotional images for advertisements. 

The RCB Jersey Icon

The IPL logo might be scored with a thick and smooth white outline. This is being followed on the jerseys of other teams revealed so far. The part of advertisement space above the tournament logo on the sleeve would be taken by the 'Tata Motors Zest'. The other sleeve would have 'Britannia' as one of the two advertisements and the other one is still unknown. The chest will have 'Lloyd Air Conditioners' on the right and the newly unveiled RCB logo on the left. The belly real estate would be donned by Huawei's mobile phone brand 'Honor'. There is nothing known about sponsor on the back, a possibility exists for 'Kingfisher Packaged Drinking Water' 

I would like to see the kit without blue, however, the jersey icon on the fantasy league website shows blue. My prediction as per this icon would be something like what's below.

Red & Blue Version

If I render my suggestion into what's designed above, the output is something like the image below. I feel black would fit into RCB's current colour scheme followed in the logo.

Red & Black Version

These are only my predictions and may or may not match with the official version of the jersey scheduled to be released in a couple of days. I shall be covering the jersey launch in detail. Stay tuned!

Exclusive: RCB 2016 Jersey is almost here!

The IPL Fantasy Championship page uses these jersey icons for players as of now and all these look very similar to the official designs.

RCB, MI, KKR, RPS, GL, KXIP, SRH, DD

If this can be believed, the blue isn't going out of RCB's strips as I guessed earlier in this post. There is a possibility of Adidas' three stripes in gold on the blue part seen on shoulders. Stay tuned for a couple of days so that I can post another article with the same title, removing the word 'almost'!

The Royal Attire Roundup: 2008 to 2015

This post basically serves as an index to all the episodes of 'The Royal Attire' series I have posted till now. The post eases the viewers' need to find all the episodes together.

Here is the index for all episodes posted:

• The Royal Attire - Episode 1 : 2008
• The Royal Attire - Episode 2 : 2009
• The Royal Attire - Episode 3 : 2010
• The Royal Attire - Episode 4 : 2011
• The Royal Attire - Episode 5 : 2012
• The Royal Attire - Episode 6 : 2013
• The Royal Attire - Episode 7 : 2014
• The Royal Attire - Episode 8 : 2015
• Special : Jersey Prediction for 2016

The Royal Attire - Episode 8 : 2015

This is the final episode of this series as of now. The next episode will have to wait till the official launch of the jersey for 2016. The 2015 season of the Pepsi Indian Premier League witnessed major changes in the attire of RCB. Reebok no longer sponsored RCB and Adidas replaced it to become the official kit maker. 

Official launch of 2015 RCB Jersey.

The jersey looked very average and was evident that importance was not given much on the designing of elements. The gold used was too yellowish, which scrapped away the royal feel from the past jerseys.

For the first time, a non-Mallya brand got featured on the chest. 'Midea Electronics' took the place of previously decided McDowell's spot if a source can be believed. The belly was retained by Huawei, A new sponsor, 'TGS Constructions' gained a spot on the sleeve. Few previous sponsors including Britannia, Tata Motors Bolt and Kingfisher remained on the jersey.

Team RCB in 2015.

The names and numbers at the back remained gold. For the Game for Green jerseys, the same gold was maintained for names and numbers for the first time. The white lettering were made black to increase visibility. A coloured version of Huawei logo was used on the belly and everything else was the same.

The green version looked slightly better than the usual red version in my opinion. As the kit sponsor was Adidas, it was expected a better design would be made for this season. But the industry giant failed to deliver. This was an average product from a company like Adidas.

RCB in Game for Green attire for 2015.

The signature three-stripe design from Adidas was missing on the jersey. However, this was included on the official replica / retail jersey that was available for public. Reasons were unknown but it was a decision from the management which is revealed in the official documentation found on Issuu. Further, refer this documentation that show the finalized official designs of RCB 2015 attire.

The 2016 kit sponsor is Adidas as well. I hope Adidas won't repeat the mistake of producing a jersey below par. We have to wait for the official jersey launch that is scheduled to take place on 7th of April. I shall be covering this event live on the blog. Stay tuned!