Aggressive and young Indian cricketer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth has bagged contracts from beverages maker, Pepsi and sports goods company, Nike this month. These multi-year contracts will take Sreesanth's endorsement portfolio to four brands with an annual net worth of Rs 35-45 lakh a brand. His agents are in talks with two other sponsors as well.
Yuvraj Singh has bagged a contract from Donear Suitings, according to his agents, Percept Talent Management. This takes his total endorsement to 10 brands with an annual net worth between Rs 1.25 and 1.40 crore a brand. Yuvraj had started off with Rs 25 lakh a brand six years ago.
Both youngsters have put up scintillating performances in the Twenty20 World Cup and have caught the attention of endorsers, thanks to their youthful and feisty image. Despite being a bowler -- and bowlers traditionally get fewer sponsors than batsmen -- Sreesanth's charged-up performance in Twenty20 World Cup has brought him to the forefront, making him attractive to sponsors, according to the PTM officials.
"Although the constant churn in the Indian cricket team has made it difficult for sponsors to narrow down on players who would have a long stint in the team, the three different formats -- one dayers, twenty-twenties and tests -- and teams have meant an increased pool of players to choose from. While there were 11 players to choose from earlier, this has gone up to almost 25 now," said Roland Landers, chief of operations, PDM sports.
However, although younger Indian cricketers such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh might fare well in the field of sponsorship, veterans including Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar are not likely see their brand value erode as long as they play cricket.
This is due to the image they portray as individuals and the desirable middle-class values they embody, said Anirban Das Blah of Globosport.
Players such as Virender Sehwag and Saurav Ganguly might, however, be at the end of their endorsement innings, as young performers, including Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik take over.
