BCCI invites bids for home series

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited bids for sponsorship of test matches, one-day internationals (ODIs) and T20 internationals to be played in the country over the next three years.

Ratnakar Shetty, chief administrative officer of BCCI, said, “We are considering sponsorships for matches to be played in India over the next three years. The reserve price has been determined at Rs 2 crore per match.”

However, Shetty declined to specify details regarding the net worth criteria of a company required to be qualified as a bidder for series sponsorship rights.

Corporate entities, domestic and foreign, are eligible to take part in the bidding. BCCI has included a rider in the eligibility criteria, which bars agencies engaged in audio-video production services of live cricket from participating in the tender process.

According to BCCI, the bids would be opened on August 20.

Industry sources said last time when series sponsorship rights were put up for bidding, BCCI had made around $46 million. World Sports Group had acquired the title, ground and pouring rights of all international matches played in India for a two-year period till March 2010.

Rukh Kizilbash, chief operating officer, Percept D’Mark, a marketing communications agency, said, “It is a fantastic sporting property. Expectations are it would draw considerable interest from corporate entities.”

Sahara India Financial Corporation recently acquired the sponsorship rights for the men’s team at 80 per cent premium over the fees doled out under the last contract. As sponsor, it has the right to require its logo to be displayed by each of the players on the field.

Under the contract, Sahara agreed to pay BCCI a uniform fee of Rs 3.34 crore for each Test match, ODI and T20 match, between July 1, 2010 and December 31, 2013. The new sponsorship price per match is over 80 per cent higher than the average fee of Rs 1.86 crore paid per match under the last contract, which ended in June. Sources said under the last contract, Sahara was paying Rs 1.9 crore per Test match, Rs 2.09 crore per ODI and Rs 1.57 crore per T20 match.

The agreement is likely to fetch BCCI around Rs 500 crore, as around 150 such matches are likely to be played during this period.