Post win, cricketers become hot property for advertisers

By Samidha Sharma, CNBC-TV18

The recent cricket wins for India have made sports agencies and brands scramble to get a piece of the young stars. New brand endorsement deals are being stitched around the winning team.

Yuvraj Singh has landed in a two-year deal from P&G for its power brand Ariel. That's not all. He is also driving away with another deal with Ford, which was earlier endorsed by Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan. He may lather up with Lifebuoy ads as well. Yuvraj Singh will earn up to Rs 1.5- 2 crore for each contract. It's not just Yuvraj; Harbhajan Singh will make Rs 25 lakh by endorsing Airtel.

But not everyone agrees. Sports agencies are already gunning for young lads like Virat Kohli, Ravinder Jadeja and Iqbal Abdullah from the under-19 winning team. The new favorites from India Eleven are Ishant Sharma, Robin Sharma and Pravin Kumar. They are all expected to sign deals in the range of Rs 20-30 lakh thanks to the success of the tour Down Under. Industry experts say another player to gain from the Australia series would be the Captain himself- MS Dhoni, whose price tag is expected to go up to Rs 2 crore annually.

The top five Indian players are expected to gain a premium of around 20-30% from their current levels post the win Down Under. And with the IPL just a month away, expect more brand endorsement deals to be announced in the near future.