T20 Victory: Bumrah's bowling, Kohli's charisma to make brands fall for Men in Blue again

A historic win at the T20 World Cup 2024, the trophy's return to home after a long 17-year wait and, Team India's resilience - the evening of June 29 has not only left an indelible impression on the minds of every Indian, it has set the perfect scenario for brand to go head over heels for the Men in Blue.

The T20 triumph is a cherry at the top of a growing endorsement market for the Men in Blue, brand experts said.

"Team India's brand value will go up by 30 to 40 percent and, for a long time, this team and its heroics are going to be the talk of the town, said Ajimon Francis, managing director of Brand Finance India, a brand valuation consultancy.

Cricket enjoys the largest share in India's sports endorsement market pie at 87 percent in 2023, though it slid from the north of 85 percent recorded in the previous year, according to  a GroupM ESP report.

A total of 536 brand endorsement deals involved sports celebrities last year and nearly 380 of them were linked to cricket players.

"India's World Cup victory was a monumental moment of redemption for both fans and cricketers alike... The triumph is likely to boost the marketability and brand portfolios of the overall playing XI and especially top performers, as companies try to leverage super brand equity of the new World Champions," said Aviral Jain, managing director at Kroll Valuation Advisory Services.

Victory in such a major tournament brings increased visibility, attention, and fan engagement towards the winning players, noted Bandana Chhetri, founder FairPlay Sports, a sports consultancy.

Playing XI

"Team India's brand value has been growing since April 2023. Losing the final (ICC Men's Cricket World 2023 One -Day International) last year didn’t really impact the brand value of the team and players but winning the T20 (World Cup 2024) will definitely create an impact and align a lot of brand engagement for individual players and the team," said Abhishek Sharma, founder and chief executive of Athletes Today, a sports management and licensing firm.

Last year, the total endorsement value in cricket reached Rs 810 crore, accelerating at 27 percent per year. It shows the growing clout of cricketers in India. 2023 was the year of the One Day International (ODI) World Cup and the fact that India was the host nation proved to be the icing on the cake, the GroupM ESP report said.

"It's a specially big win for many players, especially the two who played their last T20, Rohit Sharma who captained with panache and Virat Kohli who blasted 76. Then,  Jasprit Bumrah was the second 'Man of the tournament', Axar Patel's 46 of 31, and Suryakumar Yadav's stupendous catch showed the prowess of the Indian side. These are most likely to be the big gainers in brand value too," said N Chandramouli, CEO of TRA Research, a consumer analytics and brand insights company.

Echoing Chandramouli's sentiments, Lloyd Mathias a business strategist, investor and an independent director said that the T20 World Cup 2024 win trigger a big surge in brand value for cricket in India and it will benefit the key contributors like Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and the two superstars (Kohli and Sharma) who have announced their retirement from T20.

"We have seen a brand value surge after every world cup. We saw it after 2007 (T20 World Cup), 2011 (ODI World Cup). After the 2011 World Cup, MS Dhoni's brand value more than doubled in the next three years," he said.

Bumrah, SKY big gainers

According to Mathias, endorsement fees of key players will go up significantly.

"Jasprit Bumrah he is relatively young, so his brand value will surge the most. Not to forget Rishabh Pant who came back from a very severe injury and played and won the (T20) World Cup. Their brand value too will skyrocket. However, given that cricketers have a packed schedule, the average endorsement value will jump. Hundreds of brands will be chasing them so they won't be able to take up every brand that comes their way because they cant give that much time as each brand would need. So the average endorsement value is likely to double," he said.

In 2023, Bumrah's charges ranged between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 2 crore a day for an endorsement with a portfolio of 13 brands.

Along with Bumrah, Chhetri pointed out other top-performing players like Arshdeep Singh.

"I would also add Shivam Dube and Suryakumar Yadav to the list because of their performance in the final. Shivam with the big hitting and Surya with the magnificent catch. All four of them should see increased interest from potential sponsors. Shivam and Arshdeep particularly are likely to have the highest percentage increase in terms of brand value, since their pre-World Cup costs were not too high," she added.

Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and Surya Kumar Yadav are expected to command a good brand pull, said Jain. "The annual endorsement fee may also strengthen in double digits, leading to an overall rise in their brand values," he said adding that smart marketers will collaborate with multiple (by managing conflicts of interest) or all players (if budget allows) at one go.

Building a legacy

Despite their retirement, Kohli and Sharma will continue to be a popular choice for A-league brands, the experts said.

"While on-the-field presence and consistent performance add to a cricketer’s profile and brand value, true sporting legends with the likes of MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, have enjoyed enduring and controversy free popularity with an ability to attract brand endorsements beyond their playing days," Jain said.

Dhoni is the seventh most valuable Indian celebrity with a brand value of $95.8 million, followed by Sachin Tendulkar at the eighth spot with a brand value of $91.3 million in 2023, according to Kroll Valuation Advisory Services.

Jain said that both Sharma and Kohli have built their brands over the years due to their stupendous on-field batting performance and an ever-growing fan base. "Today they are global sporting icons and it is unlikely that their T20 retirement would have any impact on their endorsement portfolio over the next several years," he added.

Sharma also said that Kohli and Rohit Sharma are both commercial stars of the Indian cricket. He thinks that their brand values will soar further because of the fact that they will have more time off the field, giving them more time for commercial collaborations.

Virat Kohli is the mot valuable celebrity with a brand value of $227.9 million. He boasts a diverse portfolio of more than 40 brands in his portfolio across industries. While Sharma's brand value is lower at $41 million, Mathias said, the T20 2024 World Cup win is huge for  both the players to build their personal legacy.

He, however, added that the news of retirement from a format does make brands a little worried especially for long-term contracts.