Yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali is contemplating bidding for the title sponsorship of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), as per a company official.
Last week, Chinese mobile phone company Vivo paused its association with the BCCI for the 13th edition of the cash-rich league, leaving the slot of IPL title sponsorship vacated. Notably, the India-China border clash in June trigged this decision.
“We are considering this. This is for Vocal For Local and making one Indian brand as global, this is the right platform. We are considering into that perspective,” Patanjali spokesperson S K Tijarawala told PTI.
However, Tijarawala also clarified that the company is yet to take a final call on this matter.
“We have to take a final decision, whether we would take it or not,” he added.
According to him, the BCCI will issue the expression of interest on August 10 and it has to submit its proposal by August 14.
The title sponsorship is an important part of the IPL’s commercial revenue, half of which is shared equally by the franchises. Vivo had signed a five-year deal in 2017 for rights as title sponsors of the IPL from 2018-2022, earning the Indian board a reported sum of Rs 440 crore annually.
The Haridwar-based Patanjali group has an approximate turnover of around Rs 10,500 crores. Patanjali Ayurved had reported profits of Rs 8,329 crore in the 2018-19 financial year. However, the group’s overall turnover was much higher as Patanjali Ayurved comprises of mainly its FMCG business and Ayurvedic medicines.
(With PTI inputs)
