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PV Sindhu signs Rs 50 cr sports deal: Non-cricketers too scoring big in endorsements

Agencies
February 11, 2019

New Delhi, Feb 11: With India doing well in a range of Olympic sports in recent years, sportspersons in disciplines other than cricket have also started to score lucrative endorsement deals.

Olympic and World Championship silver medallist P.V. Sindhu is the latest non-cricketer to be associated with a mega sponsorship deal. The badminton star recently signed a four-year sports sponsorship deal for a whopping Rs 50 crore with Chinese sports brand Li Ning.

The record deal comes after K. Srikanth was offered Rs 35 crore over a period of four years by the company last month.

This is not the first time Sindhu and Srikanth have signed deals with Li Ning. According to media reports, both shuttlers were with the Chinese brand earlier before signing deals with Yonex.

Saina Nehwal, the other star women's badminton player in India, has deals with Kellogg, Iodex, Fortune Oil, Top Ramen and NECC.

Boxer M.C. Mary Kom is another non-cricketer to strike it big. The six-time world champion signed a deal with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited in September as their brand ambassador. The two-year deal will see the Olympic bronze medallist engage in promotional activities for BSNL for its various services.

Star athlete Hima Das has also joined the bandwagon. The Asian Games and World U-20 champion signed an endorsement deal with sports equipment manufacturer Adidas in September last year.

The Assam athlete has also become the brand ambassador for YONO, SBI's integrated digital banking platform, and Edelweiss. She has also become the first Indian sportsperson to be a UNICEF Youth Ambassador.

Cricket however, continues to rule the roost. Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has emerged as the most valued celebrity in the country for the second successive year with an estimated brand worth of $170 million.

Virat signed a Rs 110 crore deal with sportswear giant Puma in February 2017. The agreement is supposed to last eight years. Apart from that, he also has deals with a host of other brands including Wrogn, MuveAcoustics, Too Yumm, Tissot, Manyavar, Royal Challenge, American Tourister, Boost Energy Drink, MRF Tyres, Uber India, Remit 2 India and Philips.

The Delhi batsman had dethroned Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan as the most valued celebrity in India for the first time in 2017.

Italian luxury sports watchmaker Panerai had announced former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as their brand ambassador for India in December 2018.

The Indian women cricketers have also bagged their share of sponsorships with star player Smriti Mandhana being appointed the brand ambassador for Alcon, also in December last year.

The greatest cricketer of them all, Sachin Tendulkar, however, continues to be a hot target for brands even several years after his retirement.

The legendary batsman has sponsorship deals with Pepsi, Boost, Adidas, Apollo Tyres, Luminous Power, True Blue and NECC apart from several other brands.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Batting great Rahul Dravid has attributed Chennai Super Kings' consistent run in the IPL to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's instincts, game-smarts and the incredible amount of work that goes behind the scenes.

N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and head of India Cements, which owns the CSK franchise, agreed that Dhoni is a man of instinct who doesn't believe in attending team meetings and going over data.

Both were speaking at a webinar organised by the Great Lakes Institute of Management.

"If you look at the success CSK has had, they've got really good access to data and they've got really good access to people behind the scenes and they've run cricket teams at the junior level," Dravid said at the webinar according to ESPNcricinfo.

The former India captain added, "They understand talent and they've obviously got a good scouting process in place. But, what they also have is a captain who really understands instincts.

"So, I mean, look, I know Dhoni quite well and I hope he hasn't changed, but I know Dhoni is probably not one to look at reams of data and statistics."

The Super Kings have won the lucrative tournament three times -- one less than Mumbai Indians -- and reached the knockouts in each of the 10 seasons they have been a part of.

Srinivasan also spoke about how Dhoni's instinct and judgement contributed to his team's success at a time when a lot of emphases is placed on data.

"We're awash with data just now. To give you an example, there are bowling coaches and in a T20 game, they play videos of every batsman whom they're going to come against and they see how he got out, what's his strength, what's his weakness etc.

"So, MS Dhoni doesn't attend this, he's a pure instinct man. The bowling coach, (head coach Stephen) Fleming will be there and everybody will be there, everyone is giving opinions, (but) he'll get up and go.

"In the context of instinct, he feels that okay he can assess a batsman or player on the field, that's his judgement. On the other hand, there is so much of data that is available to help a person also analyse. It's a very difficult line to draw (between data and instinct)."

Srinivasan also recalled how Dhoni once refused to take "one outstanding player" suggested by the franchise boss as that could have broken the team's cohesion.

"There was one outstanding player that we suggested to MS, he said: 'no sir, he will spoil the team'. The cohesion within the team is important and see in America, franchise-based sport has been there for such a long time," he said.

"In India, we're just starting and we're new to it. But we at India Cements have had a lot of experience running teams at junior levels."

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News Network
February 4,2020

Feb 4: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday said the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash has impacted his outlook towards life, which he feels, is sometimes taken for granted in pursuit of control over the future.

Bryant, a two-time Olympic gold-medallist and one of the most decorated basketball players of all time, died in a helicopter crash last month along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who was also a budding hoopster.

"Firstly, it was a shock to everyone. I grew up watching those NBA games in the morning and watching what he did on court. But when someone that you have looked up to in some ways, passes away like that, it does put things in perspective," Kohli said on the eve of the first ODI against New Zealand here.

"...at the end of the day, life can be so fickle. It's so unpredictable. I think a lot of the times we get too caught up in the pressures of what we have to do tomorrow...we really forget living life and enjoying life and just appreciating and being grateful for the life we have," he added.

Kohli said a tragedy like this makes one realise that nothing can be more important than enjoying every moment of existence.

"...it did put things in perspective for me massively. It just makes you feel like not wanting to have control of things in front of you all the time, and just embracing life and appreciating it.

"You start looking at things from a different point of view suddenly and you want to enjoy every moment you're going through. You realise that what you're doing at the end of the day is not the most important thing. The most important thing is life itself," Kohli signed off.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 9: Bangladesh clinched their maiden ICC U-19 World Cup title after beating favourites India by three wickets in the summit clash here on Sunday.

Set a revised target of 170 after a brief rain interruption, Bangladesh won the match with 23 balls to spare.

Sent in to bat, India's batting wilted under pressure as a superb Bangladesh bowling attack shot the defending champions out for a paltry 177 in 47.2 overs.

Yasashvi Jaiswal (88 off 121 balls) was once again a standout performer but not for once did he look like dominating the Bangladesh bowling unit whose new ball bowlers Shoriful Islam (2/31 in 10 overs) and Tanzim Hasan Shakib (2/28 in 8.2 overs) literally stifled the Indians for runs.

The third seamer Avishek Das (3/40 in 9 overs) was the most successful bowler in terms of figures but it was Shoriful's first spell with channelised aggression that put the Indians on the back-foot from the onset.

After a short rain break towards the end, the target was revised to 170 from 46 runs but Bangladesh reached 170 for 7 in 42.1 overs to win the match.

Opener Parvez Hossain Emon top-scored for Bangladesh with a 79-ball 47 while captain and wicketkeeper Akbar Ali was not out on 43 from 77 deliveries.

For the India U-19 side, Ravi Bishnoi was the most successful bowler with figures of 4/30 while Sushant Mishra had 2/25.

India thus missed out on a record fifth title in their seventh final appearance.

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