Kolkata: The Cricket Association of Bengal announced its multi-year sponsorship association with five leading organisations i.e. IDBI Federal Insurance Pvt. Ltd., Reliance Jio Infocom Ltd., Bandhan Bank, BMA Stainless Ltd and Parampara.
Heads of all these companies sponsoring CAB was present on Wednesday to discuss their views on promoting cricket in the state of West Bengal. The cumulative sponsorship value is around 5 crores per year. CAB is looking at investing and upgrading facilities at Eden Gardens and promoting cricket in a bigger way. It has already invested in upgrading the stadium by installing a new and improved giant video screen, scoreboard and ground covers at the Eden Gardens which was used in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup and the IPL games in Kolkata.
Unveiling a five-star sponsors’ lineup for Cricket Association of Bengal, former India captain Sourav Ganguly today said supporting first-class cricketers was tougher than sponsoring the likes of ‘MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli’.
“It’s easier to support big names like MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli but it’s tough to support the first class cricketers who’re yet to make a mark,” the CAB president said at the announcement at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
Having already roped in IDBI Life Insurance to sponsor Bengal team, the CAB president who is less than eight months into his new role now has inked multi-year deals with Bandhan Bank, Reliance LYF, BMA Stainless Limited and Parmpara, with a cumulative value of Rs 5 crore per year.
“We will spend more on junior cricket. We will give more focus to infrastructure development. Sponsors do not have any specific role. It’s a total package, you give visibility to the brands.”
The first thing in their priority list would be to revamp the electronic scoreboard, which is partially functional at the moment.
“We could not do it before the IPL becasue of the time constraint. It takes about six months and now we hope to do it.
Talking about ambush marketting, Sourav said , ” For tournament’s like the IPL and ICC events , there will be no visibility of our sponsors. But for any International matches and tournaments organised by BCCI , our sponsors logo can be seen.”
Mr. Chandra Sekhar Ghosh, Founder, MD and CEO of Bandhan Bank said,” It is a pleasure to be associated with CAB. Bandhan Bank extends good wishesto Mr. Sourav ganguly and CAB for all the endeavors.”
Sanjay Gupta, Director of BMA Stainless ltd. said, ” Eden gardens is one of the top cricket grounds in the world and is embedded in history. It is an absolute pleasure to associate with this heritage cricket ground. As an avid lover of cricket, I am thankful to CAB for considering us to share the responsibility of providing cover to the ground and protect it from the perils of nature, specifically rain. Brand Captain has always been associated with cricket.”
Dr. Debabrata Sen said, “Brand Parampara are very much proud to be associated with CAB and my well wishes are always with CAB.”
Karthik Raman, CMO and Head-Products and Strategy, IDBI Federal Life Insurance said, “IDBI Federal Life Insurance’s vision is to inspire positive change that helps people shape a better future and live their best lives. We also encourage and support grassroots development of sports as sports help develop disciplined, strong individuals who have the potential to make a difference in the world. Bengal cricket has been making steady efforts to build a supply line for national team players. The most significant of these projects is the “vision 2020” to identify and nurture cricketing talent in Bengal. We wish them all the luck as they embark upon the exciting journey of cricket development
Bandhan Bank and IDBI has an agreement with CAB for 4 years, while Captain TMT Bar has a contract with the association for 3 years. Parampara Ayurvedic’s contract with Bengal cricket is for 2 years.