Can Apollo Tyres Break Indian Cricket 'Jersey Jinx'? Vice Chair Neeraj Kanwar Weighs In

Apollo Tyres remains confident in its strength and long-term vision, dismissing concerns over the so-called "jersey jinx" linked to past Indian cricket team sponsors. The company believes its sponsorship deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will enhance brand trust and visibility, Vice Chairman Neeraj Kanwar said on Thursday.

Speaking to NDTV Profit on Thursday, Kanwar said: “I was cautioned about this before I got into the deal. But I have a lot of faith in our company. It was built by my father, who was the chairman of the company. We've a very strong Apollo family in the organisation. We employ 19,000 people. I have a lot of trust and faith in them. I have a lot of trust in the Apollo brand itself and we are here to stay.”

His remarks come as Apollo Tyres has become the 7th official sponsor of the Indian cricket team. Apollo Tyres entered into an agreement with BCCI on Sept. 16 to become the lead sponsor of Team India, replacing Dream11.

Apollo Tyres’ agreement with the cricket board will conclude in March 2028, as per an official release by BCCI.  

“We are a long-term company. We are leaders in our industry. And we have built an institution in India, which has really taken us to the global platform. And with the support of our Indian consumers, I can assure you that Apollo is here to stay for a very, very long time,” Kanwar further emphasised.

His comments followed as previous sponsors, including Sahara, Oppo, Byju’s and Dream11, have all faced serious legal or financial troubles after their high-profile deals with BCCI. This has led to concerns about a pattern of post-sponsorship struggles for top brands, colloquially referred to as “jersey jinx”.

On the motivation behind the sponsorship, Kanwar explained that there is a natural synergy between Apollo Tyres and Team India. 

“I think being an Indian company, it gives us great honour to be on the jersey of the Indian cricket team. It brings on a lot of consumer trust. Yes, it does create visibility across not only India but globally. We are very happy because this is our national pride, the Indian cricket jersey. And for us, Apollo is also our national pride. So, there's a clear synergy,” he noted.

While admitting that the company is still finalising rollout plans, Kanwar emphasised that the partnership will be leveraged to boost brand communication and strengthen Apollo Tyres’ market presence. 

“We are now looking at mega plans on communication, on how to roll this out into the country positively and take it to our advantage so that we do get benefits as far as the brand is concerned and as far as our bottom line is concerned,” he added.

Shares of Apollo Tyres were trading flat at Rs 483.65 apiece, up 0.04%, on the NSE at around 1:30 p.m., while the benchmark Nifty50 stood 0.18% higher at 25,376.95.