India Likely To Play Asia Cup Without Any Jersey Sponsor After Dream11 Exit - Report
The Indian cricket team players are likely to play in the Asia Cup 2025 without a jersey sponsor after the exit of Dream11, according to a report.
- Dream11 ended its jersey sponsorship of the Indian cricket team before Asia Cup 2025
- BCCI is seeking a new sponsor but may not finalise a deal before the Asia Cup starts
- An emergency BCCI meeting discussed the sponsorship issue but did not set any timeline for resolution
The Indian cricket team players are likely to play in the Asia Cup 2025 without a jersey sponsor after the exit of Dream11, according to a report by India Today. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is currently working on getting a new sponsor till the ODI World Cup 2027 and the report claimed that the process will take a longer time. With the Asia Cup starting from September 9, it is very likely that the deal will not be done in time for the competition. Accorinding to the report, a BCCI emergency meeting, chaired by Rajeev Shukla as interim president, took place on Thursday. There were discussions regarding finding a new sponsor but no timeline was decided by the BCCI.
Earlier, Devajit Saikia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, confirmed that the board's association with fantasy sports company Dream11 has ended, and deliberations over finding a new lead sponsor is on.
Dream11 had signed a three-year deal worth Rs 358 crore in July 2023 to replace edtech company Byju's as the lead sponsor of the Indian cricket team. It also had a significant presence in the Indian Premier League (IPL) through multiple franchise tie-ups and being lead sponsor in 2020 after Vivo's pullout.
But after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 was passed in both Parliament houses last week, as well as got the assent of President Droupadi Murmu, Dream11 said it suspended all money-based online gaming contests on its platform.
“Under the new legislation, it will be difficult for BCCI to continue with Dream11 or any other identical gaming companies. So, there is a roadblock and I don't think BCCI will be able to continue with Dream11 now. We are deliberating on an alternative course of action at this stage,” said Saikia to IANS.
It is understood that Dream11 will not incur any penalties, with the contract having a clause safeguarding the sponsor in case its core business is banned by the government and that they won't be liable to pay anything to the BCCI.
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