Bharti Airtel to End Title Sponsorship of BCCI

September 19, 2013

The Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) are on the search for a new title sponsor after Bharti Airtel, the telecommunication company, have revealed they will end their deal with the organisation at the end of their contract according to ESPN.

The BCCI’s marketing committee will meet in Mumbai on Thursday for finalizing the invitation to tender document for getting in a new series sponsor for home fixtures.

Airtel has had the rights as series sponsors for all international and domestic matches played in India since September 1, 2010 with their deal expected to end March 31, 2013.

However, since the company opted not to continue as the series sponsor, the BCCI’s marketing committee – a 23-member panel headed by Farooq Abdullah – will finalise the tender document.

“Most of the terms and conditions, barring the base price, are likely to remain the same,” a BCCI insider told ESPN.

The BCCI has had to deal with a number of controversies recently including the IPL spot-fixing scandal. However, a BCCI insider said Airtel’s decision had nothing to do with the recent controversies in Indian cricket. In fact, he claimed that Airtel were preparing for a bigger association with Indian cricket. “Airtel have shown interest in bidding for the team title rights, like they had done in the past,” he said.