Killer is India's new Kit sponsor, changes hands with MPL

As a new look As Team India prepares to face Sri Lanka in the first T20I on Tuesday, December 3, at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, it appears that they have secured a new team uniform and merchandising sponsor in Killer Jeans, one of the brands owned by Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited (KKCL). According to reports, the Mobile Premier League (MPL) has opted to transfer the Indian cricket team’s jersey sponsorship rights to KKCL and quit the three-year contract.

A few Indian players, including Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar, and Ruturaj Gaikwad, posed for a photo before of the upcoming home white-ball series against the Islanders. Chahal shared the image on his official social media accounts. The players wore the India jersey with the KKCL Killer brand emblem on the right side of their chests.

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BCCI did not want MPL to leave

According to reports, on December 2, 2022, MPL Sports wrote an email to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asking for a complete transfer of team and merchandising at full value to the fashion wear brand KKCL. The BCCI, on the other hand, has encouraged MPL to extend its sponsorship relationship at least until March 2023. MPL signed a three-year contract with the national cricket body in November 2020, with the contract running through December 31, 2023. Mobile Premier League has beaten Nike to this prestigious contract.

As of now, it is unknown why MPL has backed out of this deal, given that the BCCI had rigorously prohibited the transfer of sponsorship rights to any other firms till March of this year during its Apex Council meeting. Previously, one of the BCCI’s main sponsors, Paytm, ceded the domestic rights to Mastercard, and according to reports, edtech company BYJU’S also plans to discontinue its sponsorship links with the board well before the validity of their contractual deal expires.