T20 champs to bag plum ad contracts

The victory of the Men in Blue against Pakistan in the ICC World Twenty20 championship is expected to see a doubling in the market value of young stars like Sreesanth, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, R P Singh, Robin Uthappa, and Dinesh Karthik.

Consider Gautam Gambhir, who played a key innings in the final. Before that, he has had problems getting endorsements of even Rs 10 lakh.

He had brief contracts with Reebok and Dabur and Pepsi which were not renewed. Now, the cricketer is easily expected to command a price tag of over Rs 20 lakh per brand.

Players like Rohit Sharma or Dinesh Karthik who could never command more than Rs 10 to Rs 15 lakh can now hope to hit Rs 30 lakh for new deals. Bowler Sreesanth's endorsement tag has shot up from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 40 lakh after his performance in the Twenty20 tournament.

"Given the team's performance the demand for these players has risen among advertisers. Consequently, the endorsement rates will increase and so will the number of advertisers approaching a player," said Latika Khaneja, director, Collage Sports Management, which manages both Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

Other youngsters like Yuvraj Singh and M S Dhoni are also expected to see their brand value soar. Sources said Indian Oil Corporation is in talks to rope in 26-year-old vice captain Yuvraj Singh who currently endorses around 10 brands. Earlier, Singh commanded a price tag of Rs 1 crore for a brand; he is now negotiating at double the price with potential new companies.

"We are likely to increase his endorsement fees after his performance," confirmed Vinita Bangard, COO of Percept Talent Management, which handles Yuvraj Singh and Sreesanth.

Of course, captain M S Dhoni who steered India to victory has become a hot favourite among advertisers, confirmed Jeet Banerjee, MD, Gameplan Sports, which manages Dhoni, Robin Uthappa and Munaf Patel. Dhoni who charges Rs 1 crore for an endorsement is now commanding a price of Rs 1.75 crore.

Indian cricketers usually fall under three categories for endorsements. At the top are Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid who command over Rs 3 crore per brand.

They are followed by Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh who charge around Rs 1crore per brand. The new breed of cricketers along with Irfan Pathan fall in the third category and earned close to Rs 25 lakh per brand.

Media experts are, however, divided on whether the market value of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly will decline.

Said Anirban Das Blah, vice president Globosports India, " Dravid aside, the brand value of the other two top players is under threat. Dravid's determination cannot be replicated by the younger players."

But others argued that the trio will play a key role in the forthcoming tournaments. "The three have proved themselves over time. The brand value of the three might not fall, but it might stagnate for some time," said Vinita Bangard.