Sports
Sponsorship Robi unveiled as new sponsors for Bangladesh Cricket Team, acquires deal for Tk 50 crore
Dhaka, February 17: Robi Axiata Limited, one of the largest mobile network operators in the country, has claimed the sponsorship rights of the Bangladesh national cricket team for three and a half years.
An agreement was signed between the mobile company and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) at the BCB head office at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Friday.
According to the agreement, Robi will pay Tk 50 crore for the contract from February this year to July 2027.
"BCB is delighted to have Robi as a sponsor of our national cricket team. We hope, through this partnership, Bangladesh cricket will reach new heights.
Robi is the new sponsor of Bangladesh after removing Daraz.
The country's apex cricket body was looking for a new sponsor after BCB's two-and-a-half-year contract with Daraj expired on November 30 last year.
Before Daraz, Robi was the title sponsor of the national team after signing a two-year contract with BCB for Tk 41 crore 41 lakh in 2015.
Their contract was renewed in 2017 which was supposed to continue until the 2019 World Cup but Robi decided to shorten the sponsorship deal in August 2018.
One of the main reasons for shortening the contract was believed to be private contracts of national players with their rival mobile network operators.
This time they have given a condition that no player including captain, vice-captain will enter into a contract with any other mobile company.
The BCB CEO also said, 'Currently those who have contracts with other telecom companies can run it, but once the contract expires they cannot renew the contract.
However, apart from the mobile network operator, these organizations can contract with other organizations. This is the important aspect of the agreement and we have accepted it. We don't think it will be a problem.
It is reported that the sponsorship amount is less than the amount that BCB received from Daraz.
Even Robi's previous contract was better than the current one.
The BCB CEO termed the deal with Robi as 'good' for them considering other aspects.
Considering the current context and other aspects, we think this is a better deal than other deals. We also talked to other sponsors who were willing to sign an agreement. But from what we understand, Robi's deal is better than others.
