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On July 1, 2023 - BCCI announced Dream11 as the new Team India Lead Sponsor.
Dream 11, India’s biggest fantasy sports gaming platform became Team India’s lead sponsor for the period of three years. From 1993 to 2023, here are the previous sponsors who were seen on Team India's jersey.
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In the era of the Tendulkars and Dravids, ITC Limited (with Wills and ITC Hotels brands) was the official sponsor of the Indian Cricket team from June 1993 till May 2001.
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In February 2001, ITC announced its withdrawal from all sports sponsorships after the government's announcement of a proposed bill to ban smoking in public places, advertisements by the tobacco companies and sale of cigarette to those below 18 years.
After ITC, it was Sahara India who appeared on Team India's jersey as the official sponsor from June 2001 to December 2013.
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In February 2012, Sahara India Parivar cut its ties with the BCCI. In its formal statement, Sahara referred to several points of dispute with the BCCI, from it first sponsorship deal in 2001 but mostly relating to the lucrative IPL.
After Sahara India, it was Star India who appeared on Team India's jersey as the official sponsor from January 2014 to March 2017.
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The then Star India CEO Uday Shankar was quoted saying that 'Due to lack of clarity on various matters and the uncertainties around the future of the game, Star India has decided not to take part in the bidding process for the apparel sponsorship.'
After Star India, it was the Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer Oppo who appeared on Team India's jersey as the official sponsor from May 2017 to August 2019.
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Oppo had won the sponsorship rights till 2022, but in July 2019 it announced that it will evoke the transfer of ownership clause and hand over the rights to Byju's. The reason for withdrawing and handing over the rights was not disclosed publicly.
After Oppo, it was the then ed-tech Unicorn Byju's which appeared on Team India's jersey as the official sponsor from September 2019 till March 2023.
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In an interview with CNBC, Byju's co-founder Divya Gokulnath told that they will not renew its jersey sponsorship deal with India’s cricket team. It was seen as a move by the ed-tech company with a focus on profitability, which involved reducing its branding across different verticals.
The fantasy sports app will now replace Byju's and will soon appear on Team India's jersey as the official sponsor from the upcoming Test series against the West Indies.
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