Former Indian captain MS Dhoni may have seen a dip in his form on the field, but his brand value remains the same in the market. Recently, MS Dhoni was signed as the brand ambassador of Panerai. The watch brand picked Dhoni to play a charity game of football in Panerai’s ‘Heroes for a Cause’ event.

Dhoni along with a mixture of players comprising of entrepreneurs, bloggers, Paneristi and children from the SOS Children’s Villages of India – a child care NGO which received the proceeds from the match and the sum for which MSD’s gleaming Panerai watch was auctioned.

A Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Automatic 42mm, sporting blue rubber straps carrying MSD’s very valuable signature was auctioned.

Starting from rupees 4 lakh, the watch was sold to entrepreneur Eddie Wang who made a final bid of INR 8 lakh. The Panerai Luminor Submersible is the watch’s flagship diving watch known for its prominent rotating bezel which ensures up to 300 meters of water resistance, qualifying it as professional diving equipment. 

Arun Pandey, Chairman of Rhiti Sports which exclusively manages Dhoni’s commercial deals said “Panerai is a leader in the luxury watches segment and we are thrilled to have facilitated this partnership where the brand story will be told using MS Dhoni who is renowned for his leadership skills. There is a very natural fitment between the brand attributes and MS Dhoni’s personality which makes this association very exciting”

About his association, Dhoni said that Panerai was the sort of brand he’d hoped he would someday get to endorse, in his early days as a cricketer. He also said that given how close the Indian Defense forces are to his heart, a watch that was known for providing assistance to the Navy (the Italian Navy to be specific) made the brand all the more special to him.

(With Inputs of Economic Times)