Published: Aug 22, 2017, 11:56 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 22, 2017, 11:56 AM (IST)
Nike, who have been associated with Team India since 2006, seem to have hit the wrong road recently. Virat Kohli and co. have expressed unhappiness with the sub-standard sponsor kits. The top two Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials, Rahul Johri and Ratnakar Shetty, have raised the issue to Supreme Court-formed CoA. Its chairman, Vinod Rai, has expressed concerns about the issue. Nike India’s head Keerthana Ramakrishnan have not responded to the emails or text messages yet. Nike India in 2016 had paid INR 370 crores to continue their association with Team India until 2020. Their contract runs from Jan 1, 2016 to September 30, 2020, and they pay INR 87,34,000 per match.
Johri confirmed the reports to Indian Express and said, “It (Nike’s clothing) has come up for discussion in last CoA meeting and chairman CoA (Vinod Rai) took it very strongly. The team cannot have sub-standard kits and we will be engaging with Nike and he has asked to put our case strongly. We have to engage with them, we will have a meeting with them (Nike) next week and try to resolve it at earliest.” Meanwhile, India’s jersey that donned Star for several years, saw OPPO named as the official jersey sponsors a few months ago. OPPO, who are more famous for their smart phones, paid INR 1,079 crores for a deal of five years. India have already achieved new heights in the Test series against Sri Lanka with 3-0 whitewash.
They have now begun the limited-overs series on a high note with 1-0 lead in the 5-match ODI series. India will now take on Sri Lanka for the second ODI at Pallekele on Thursday.
