Percept bowls Sourav, ends pact

Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly might be blazing centuries against Pakistan in the recently-concluded Test series.

But he has trouble brewing elsewhere as Percept Talent Management (PTM), which handles his brand endorsements, has terminated its agreement with the cricketer.

Ganguly's five-year agreement with PTM was originally supposed to end sometime in 2008.

Company insiders said Ganguly, who was in the cold after he was removed as the captain of the Indian team, has been unable to attract advertisers for over 18 months. Sources said the company had committed a minimum guarantee of Rs 50 crore for five years.

With few endorsements under his belt, PTM's management thinks it won't be able to meet the minimum guarantee for 2008, and has decided to call off the deal. Vinita Bangard, chief operating officer of PTM, declined to comment on the issue.

Experts said popular cricketers Yuvraj Singh and M S Dhoni can now rake in an annual minimum guarantee of Rs 10 crore, closing in on Ganguly and Rahul Dravid who get in the range of Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore a year. Sachin Tendulkar gets close to Rs 20 crore a year.

Ganguly has endorsed brands like Pepsi, Sahara, Hero Honda, LG, and Puma, apart from Chirag Computers and Emami.

Meanwhile, other sports management agencies do not appear keen to grab Ganguly's account. "Sourav Ganguly has been witnessing constant ups and downs in his cricketing career, so brands are not interested in signing him on," said an industry source.

The current controversy marks the second time Ganguly and PTM have had problems. In 2003, PTM took Ganguly to court when competitor Nimbus Communications made him an offer.

Ganguly stayed on after Percept matched the amount Nimbus was offering. PTM has been handling Ganguly's account since 2000.

PTM, which is close to losing Yuvraj Singh's account to tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi's sports marketing agency Globosport, will now be left with only S Sreesanth.

It is believed that Sreesanth's contract too ends in 2008. In the past, PTM also lost Zaheer Khan's account.