Shoaib, Sachin to promote TVS bike

Fans across the country will soon see Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar speeding in India not with a cricket ball, but on a yet-to-be-launched powerful bike by TVS Motor Company.

Accompanying the pace bowler will be master batsman Sachin Tendulkar for a promotional shoot of the bike by the end of the month, company officials said.

Confirming that TVS had entered into a contract with Shoaib, TVS vice president (corporate communication) Cecil K Dewars told PTI from Chennai: "We will have the Pakistani paceman for a shoot in India towards the end of the month."

Cecil, however, did not comment on the contractual amount, saying that it was confidential.

Asked if the contract was for a year, the company official said, "Only thing I can comment is that Akhtar is coming for a shoot for a new bike which will be launched shortly."

Sachin Tendulkar is a brand ambassador for the motorcycle giant, ranked third in the country in terms of sales.

Asked about the details of the new bike, Cecil said that it would be more powerful than the recent launches but did not give further details.

Sources said Shoaib Akhtar would come to Mumbai by April end for the shoot.

The promotion campaign could also involve other cricket stars like Brett Lee and Jason Gillispie, the pace duo from Australia, but there was no official confirmation.

In a bid to increase its market share, TVS has been aggressively marketing with expanded product base and had launched Fiero F2 and Centra last year.