Cricketer Rohit named Nissan's global ambassador

Japanese car manufacturer Nissan on Wednesday named Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma as their new global ambassador.

In its partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC), Nissan also named West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell and New Zealand women's team captain Suzie Bates as its ambassadors.

"Nissan is absolutely delighted to welcome this illustrious line-up to the Nissan team as ambassadors," Nissan corporate vice-president Roel de Vries said.

"As genuine performers in the shorter form of the game, these players consistently deliver on the big stage. We look forward to working together to bring cricketing excitement to fans worldwide, starting with the World Twenty20."

In addition to an advertising campaign, the ambassadors will be active on social media across the World T20, supporting fan focused initiatives of Nissan.

"I'm thrilled to work with Nissan on their partnership with the ICC. The World T20 is very special to me and takes a tremendous amount of hard work and innovation to win," Rohit, who is in Dhaka for the Asia Cup, said in a statement.

"It remains one of the most exciting cricket competitions in the world and I'm looking forward to sharing that with the fans."

Rohit, Russell and Bates join South African pacers Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada in the Nissan cricket family, who were recently announced as ambassadors in their home country.

Nissan's eight-year sponsorship deal with ICC comprises all tournaments for the period 2016 to 2023.

The World T20 will be played in India from March 15 to April 3.