MAM
ASICS India inks deal with cricketer Prasidh Krishna
Mumbai: Japanese sports performance brand ASICS welcomed Indian cricketer and prolific right-arm fast bowler Prasidh Krishna into the ASICS family. He broke a 24-year-old Indian record for most wickets in an ODI debut by picking up four wickets against England in March 2021. He is admired by the younger generation across the country for his dedication, and pursuance, resonating with the ASICS brand philosophy of ‘A Sound Mind in a Sound Body.’
Known for his speed, fitness, and agility, Prasidh is one of India’s finest bowlers. Earlier this year, he yet again made his presence felt at the international stage by delivering a phenomenal performance in an ODI series against West Indies and was awarded the ‘Man of the Series’ title.
Commenting on the association, ASICS India and South Asia managing director Rajat Khurana said, “We at ASICS India are delighted to announce our association with International Indian cricketer and the very talented fast bowler Prasidh Krishna. His unparalleled energy and exciting potential mesh well with our mission to showcase the power of sport through the transformation of not just the body but also the mind. Through this collaboration, we endeavour to build a stronger sporting spirit and ambition with young and emerging athletes.”
Delighted about his association with ASICS, Prasidh Krishna said, “I am really excited to be a part of the ASICS family. I admire the brand’s vision, philosophy, and legacy that the brand has built in the sport of cricket. Together, I hope that we can create a meaningful impact in the minds and lives of aspiring athletes.”
ASICS has been working with young and emerging athletes across different sports. Known for being a pioneer in footwear technology and innovation, ASICS India’s partnership with Prasidh Krishna will further reinforce the company’s dedication, and promote awareness about the transformational power of sport and the uplifting impact it has on the body and mind.
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
