Brands
Aamir Khan to hit the pickleball court with fans in WPBL contest
MUMBAI: The World Pickleball League has unveiled the Pickler Contest, a fan engagement initiative that will see Bollywood star Aamir Khan step onto the pickleball court alongside players from Mumbai.
As part of the contest, Mumbai-based doubles players with a Dupr rating above 3.5 are being invited to compete for a rare opportunity to play with Khan on 7 February, 2026, at Jio World Garden in Mumbai. Entries are open on the official WPBL platform and will close at 5 pm on February 6.
The initiative forms part of the league’s second campaign aimed at bringing the fast-growing sport closer to communities while leveraging high-profile voices to boost participation and visibility.
Promoted by Natekar Sports and Gaming, the World Pickleball League debuted in 2025 and is backed by Sony Global Corporation through Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India as a strategic partner. The league is affiliated with the All-India Pickleball Association, the Asia Federation of Pickleball and the United World Pickleball Federation.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
