Apollo Tyres was on Tuesday named as the lead sponsor of India’s men’s and women’s cricket teams after the BCCI announced a record Rs 579 crore three-year deal with them.

After the government passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 in August, Dream11 had exited its sponsorship deal, forcing BCCI to look for a replacement. As per the new deal, Apollo Tyres will pay Rs 4.5 crore per game, higher than what Dream11 paid (Rs 4 crore).

When the BCCI floated the tenders earlier this month, there were doubts whether it would be able to receive a sum in the vicinity of what Dream11 was paying. And despite BCCI making it clear that it won’t entertain bids from companies in the gaming, betting, crypto, tobacco, sportswear, non-alcoholic cold beverages sectors, it received plenty of interest which proved that the Indian cricket team remains the most popular brand that top corporate houses want to partner.

Santosh N, managing partner of D&P Advisory, an independent valuation company that tracks brand IPL among others, said the restrictions put in place by BCCI as to who could bid would have played a big role.

“There is no shortage when it comes to Indian corporations. There are conglomerates like the Tatas and the Birlas. And new stand-offs and plenty of large advertisers would obviously have been eyeing these rights every time. It is not that Apollo wasn’t interested earlier. It’s just that maybe, they did not participate earlier with the knowledge that there are others who were ready to burn more cash. They would have known they wouldn’t be the highest bidder. Now, the list became smaller and the bidders became smaller. Many would have thought they have a decent chance because many competitors were out of the picture,” Santosh tells