New Cricket stars may score ad deals | Economic Times

NEW DELHI: Talent management firms representing the Indian cricketers who crafted a historic win over Australia on Tuesday have started sending feelers to brands for endorsements, industry executives said.Fees have gone up for some of the cricketers who already endorse brands, they said. The team consisted largely of lesser-known players with little international experience after more than half the first string was laid low, mostly through injury.“Between yesterday and today, endorsement fees of some of the youngsters have gone up 30-50%,” said a senior executive at a top talent management firm. “We are telling brands to sign up the young upcoming talent now, since they will also benefit as these are youngsters who charge a 10th of fees compared to some of the established names.”Pant, Gill Played Key RolesAmong the newer lot, while Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are represented by the talent arm of IMG Worldwide and Reliance Industries IMG Reliance, JSW Sports announced Wednesday it would represent Rishabh Pant’s commercial engagements, brand endorsements and appearances, social media monetisation and other commercial interests.Cornerstone Ventures, the talent management firm that represents India captain Virat Kohli, also represents Shubman Gill. Pant and Gill played key roles in the win.RPG Enterprises chairman Harsh Goenka hinted at a potential deal with his tweet: “Shubman Gill deserves the Ceat bat again.”Ceat, an RPG subsidiary, had signed a bat endorsement deal with Gill over two years ago, which got over this year. He could be back with Ceat, with a bat deal valued at about 30% higher.Brands are looking at signing up some of the new talent.“We have seen a meteoric rise of new-age cricketing talent from India. As a brand, we are extremely excited to partner with not just established players but also some of the young guns who have performed so well,” said Abhishek Ganguly, managing director at sportswear maker Puma for India and South-East Asia, though he declined to mention details of upcoming deals.“Growth in brand valuation of these cricketers is inevitable. They are what MS Dhoni was many years back. Almost all of them are from small towns who are making their mark through sheer hard work,” said Arun Pandey, chairman of Rhiti Group, the sports management firm that gained fame a decade ago when it formally started representing Dhoni.Growth in Brand ValueUntil now, these emerging stars have signed very few deals or have done so mostly with lower profile brands. While Bumrah has been brand ambassador for furniture hardware and accessories maker Ebco, Pant has had endorsement deals with sports equipment maker SG and Adidas. Fees for players like Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, who didn’t play in the last Test, are Rs 20-50 lakh per endorsement, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Pant and Gill charge Rs 10-20 lakh, they said. Ajinkya Rahane, who led the team, has been associated with a few brands such as Ceat, edu-tech firm ELSA Corp and sports tech and events startup Huddle.“We are looking at signing up at least a couple of the new talent, and hope to formalise the deal before the upcoming India-England series,” a senior executive at a leading healthcare brand said, declining to be named for confidentiality reasons.“Brand value of the upcoming cricketers is surely up, given the pull of cricket,” said Tuhin Mishra, managing director of sports management firmBaseline Ventures, which represents Prithvi Shaw. “Brands will surely be considering the talent for endorsements. Signing of new deals, though, hasn’t been formalised because it’s just been one day.”While Shaw didn’t play in the final match, he was a member of the team in the first Test.The winning team comprised several who made their Test debut or were on their first overseas tour such as Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill and Navdeep Saini.