Legacy brands storm back into cricket sponsorship after RMG ban, D2C retreat

Mumbai: Legacy brands are staging a comeback in cricket sponsorship, as the retreat of fantasy gaming and private equity-funded tech firms resets the market and opens space for established advertisers to return.

The Indian cricket board and the International Cricket Council have signed new deals with Apollo Tyres, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, Google and Bisleri, reinforcing cricket’s status as India’s most scalable marketing platform. Traditional brands, once priced out by tech-fuelled bidding wars, now see renewed opportunity as funding constraints force new-age players to pull back. The ban on real money gaming (RMG) also left a revenue gap for boards, broadcasters and franchises, as gaming companies were top advertisers until recently.