Chennai Super Kings back in IPL after 2 years; retains Dhoni, Raina, Jadeja

CSK already filled slots for all the nine sponsors; Aircel expected to be out from the list of sponsors this season

Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which is back in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, after two years of suspension, has already filled the slots for all the nine sponsors, retaining some of the previous ones, according to top officials from the franchisee Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKCL).

However, telecom player Aircel, which has continuously partnered with CSK for eight years, till the team got suspended, may be out from the sponsors' list for the team this year, according to sources.

CSKL officials said the sponsors have been roped in and will be announced formally in near future. An e-mail sent to Aircel seeking confirmation and reasons for its absence from the sponsorship did not elicit a response till the time of publishing this story.

"All nine sponsorship slots for CSK got filled in advance. We will formally announce the details soon," said CSKCL Chief Executive Officer Kasi Viswanathan.

According to officials, two of the old sponsors are continuing with the team this year, and there are four new sponsors for the season.

India Cements, which was the former franchisee of the team and is currently one of the sponsors, has today announced a brand promotion scheme, under which its customers will get CSK merchandise and other gift coupons when they purchase 50 kilograms of Coromandel Super Power Cement. 

CSK has carried the brand image of India Cements in North India and associating with the team as a sponsor would be beneficial for the brand, said Rupa Guruanth, whole time director, India Cements.

The team has retained M S Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, as announced in earlier January.

It has spent around Rs 330 million out of the total purse of Rs 800 million to retain the three players and will acquire more players in the upcoming mega auction on January 27 and 28.

The team, which was suspended for two years by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice R M Lodha Committee in a betting case, has seen an increase in its fan base when it was not active, CSKL officials said. 

Reports cite that the controversy related to IPL scam has hit CSK's value. According to American Appraisal India (AAI's) report, which was released in April 2015, CSK value declined to $67 million in 2015 from $72 million in 2014.