Indian telecoms company, Oxigen today announced its sponsorship of the South African Twenty20 side in the upcoming season.
The Proteas T20 squad that left here for a tour of Bangladesh packed into their bags the new kit, which boldly has Oxigen's logo on the front.
Oxigen is a partner with South Africa's Blue Label Telecoms.
The Proteas will sport the Oxigen kit in twelve T20 matches against Bangladesh, New Zealand, India, England and Australia before next year's ICC World T20 Championships in India.
"Eleven years ago, when Oxigen entered into a joint venture with Blue Label Telecoms, we created history in the prepaid industry in India by becoming market leaders," the Chairman and Managing Director of Oxigen, Pramod Saxena, who flew to South Africa for the announcement, said.
"Today, the sponsorship of Cricket South Africa by Oxigen carries the same promise of setting a new trend, whereby local brands will take part in global sponsorships and enhance the esprit de corps at an international level," Saxena said, adding that the Proteas players were household names in India, particularly through their participation in the IPL.
"Indian sponsorship of South African cricket is a first in the country for any sport and to mind this is going to be a game changer," he added.
Cricket South Africa Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said that the Proteas were keen to exploit opportunities in the global market as the brand is a highly valued brand.
"The Proteas are a globally recognised brand with huge support in India and having an international-based company as our team sponsor is a pioneering step," Lorgat said.
