Having signed a multi-year deal with the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), Adidas has come onboard as the Indian cricket team’s official kit sponsor. The Indian men’s team will be donning Adidas jerseys for the first time during the imminent ICC World Test Championship 2021-2023 final against Australia starting Wednesday onwards.
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Star cricketers in Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur have already unveiled their first look of wearing the jerseys. As fans, you, too, can stand a chance to win these jerseys. Click here to know more.
The huge reputation of this sportswear giant has only increased over the years. In fact, its popularity had once helped the legendary Sachin Tendulkar play a hilarious prank against former India captain Sourav Ganguly.
Not only was Tendulkar a mischief monger since his childhood days, he later formed a lovely pair with former Indian batter Virender Sehwag, both on and off-the-field. Interestingly, while the former has made sure to pull Ganguly’s leg from time-to-time, his team-up with Sehwag has also humbled the former BCCI president in the past as well.
A few days ago, the ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’ revealed yet another anecdote of his off-field partnership with Tendulkar which had led to an embarrassment for their then skipper.
Seeking Adidas Jerseys, Sourav Ganguly Had Once Fallen Into Sachin Tendulkar And Virender Sehwag’s Trap
During a recent episode of the popular chat show Breakfast with Champions, Sehwag had revealed how Tendulkar had decided to play yet another prank with Ganguly during their years of playing together for India.
The prank takes place while Ganguly uses the washroom. Being brand ambassadors of Adidas at the time, both Tendulkar and Sehwag began heaping praises of some Adidas T-shirts which had apparently arrived from Germany.
Eavesdropping their conversation, the southpaw batter later dialed the Adidas office’s number and told them to ship the same T-shirts which his teammates were talking about. Little did he realize, he had found himself of the receiving end of an embarrassing prank.
“Main aur Sachin Adidas ke brand ambassadors the. Hum log toilet gaye aur unhone kaha ki hum dada [Ganguly] ke saath kuch khelte hain. Woh bole, ‘Tu haan-haan karta rehiyo’. Maine kaha, ‘Theek hai’. Dada toilet gaye, andar pot pe baithe aur hum log bahar baatein kar rahe hain, ‘Yaar yeh T-shirts aayi hai na Adidas ki Germany se kamaal ki hain!’. Maine kaha, ‘Haan bhaji, stuff to bhut tagda hai’. Aur hum log itna keh kar bahar aa gaye [Sachin and I were Adidas’ brand ambassadors. We went to the toilet and he said that we should have some fun with Dada [Sourav Ganguly]. He was like, ‘You just reply in the affirmation’. I told him, ‘Okay’. So, Dada was sitting on the toilet pot, and we started talking from the outside, ‘These T-shirts which Adidas have sent from Germany are amazing!’. I remarked, ‘Yes, elder brother, the material is really good’. This is all we had conversed, and we walked off].
“Aur dada bahar nikle aur Adidas ko phone laga diya, ‘Yaar, woh Germany vali T-Shirts jo Sachin-Sehwag ko di hai, woh bhej do’. Uske baad, Adidas walon ka Sachin ko phone aaya, mujhe phone aaya ki bhai aisi kaun si T-shirts di hai humne aapko bata do, Germany se jo aayi hai, dada maang rahe hain! Finally, Dada ko pata chal gaya ki yaar tum log bahut kammene ho, maze le gaye mere [Then Dada called up Adidas and asked them to sent the t-shirts from Germany given to Sachin and Sehwag. And then, the Adidas authorities called up Sachin and me asking which t-shirts have they sent us from Germany which Dada is asking for! Finally, Dada came to know it was a prank. He was like, ‘You guys played me’].”
How Much Money Will Adidas Pay to BCCI As Official Kit Sponsor?
With the sponsorship deal set to run through to March 2028, reports from credible media organizations state that BCCI will earn somewhere around INR 250-300 crore from Adidas over the next five years.
The jersey sponsorship will alone cost Adidas approximately INR 75 lakh per match, while they will also pay the royalty sum of INR 9-10 crore annually on the merchandise sold by them during the deal period.
