BCCI raises reserve price for Team India sponsorship rights

MUMBAI: The next innings in Indian cricket isn’t being played with a bat, it’s being bid for with a cheque book. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has raised the reserve prices for its title sponsorship and associate partner rights, signalling growing confidence in the commercial value of Indian cricket as it opens bidding for its next sponsorship cycle.

The reserve price for title sponsorship has been increased by more than 15 per cent to Rs 4.9 crore per match, up from the Rs 4.2 crore per match paid by incumbent sponsor IDFC First Bank. The associate partner reserve price has also been raised to Rs 95 lakh per match, compared with the earlier Rs 82 lakh.

The new title sponsorship agreement will run until March 2028 and is expected to cover around 35 international matches. At the reserve price, the rights are valued at approximately Rs 169.8 crore. In comparison, the previous cycle covered 56 matches, with IDFC First Bank paying Rs 235.2 crore.

The base price for each associate partner slot has been fixed at Rs 33.3 crore. The previous cycle featured SBI Life, Campa Cola and Atomberg as associate sponsors.

The BCCI issued the tender for title sponsorship rights on Monday, with bids due by 13 August, while submissions for associate partner rights will close on 25 August.

The shorter commercial cycle has been structured to coincide with the expiry of several other BCCI partnerships, including agreements with Adidas and Apollo Tyres, both of which conclude in March 2028. Aligning multiple rights packages could enable the board to market its commercial inventory more efficiently.

The revised reserve prices come amid shifting advertiser preferences, with brands increasingly favouring T20 cricket over bilateral Test and One-Day International series. A sports marketing executive quoted by The Economic Times described the new title sponsorship base price as “very aggressive” in the current market, while a media planning executive noted that stronger competition among bidders would be crucial to pushing valuations even higher.

The timing also reflects the continued commercial strength of Indian sport. According to WPP Media’s Sporting Nation report, sports sponsorship spending in India reached Rs 7,942 crore in 2025, marking a 7 per cent year-on-year increase. Cricket accounted for 89 per cent of the sponsorship market, up from 85 per cent a year earlier, as traditional sectors stepped in to offset the retreat of real-money gaming advertisers.

With premium sponsorship rights once again heading to the auction table, the BCCI is betting that cricket’s commercial appeal remains as formidable off the field as it is on it.