PepsiCo to become sponsor for all ODIs and test matches in India

It’s been a few months that PepsiCo quit as the Indian Premier League (IPL)’s title sponsor, but seems like it couldn’t away from the glam world of cricket for long. Pepsico has now bagged a four-year contract and has become the ground sponsor for all one-day international and test matches that would be played in India.

The deal was signed between PepsiCo and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The company now plans to display its sports drink brand Gatorade prominently on the ground, company officials told ET. However, financial details were not disclosed by PepsiCo or BCCI.

"We continue to remain committed to sports in India," a PepsiCo spokesperson told ET.

"Recently, we were the exclusive beverage sponsor for the All-Star cricket series, we associated with soccer through the ISL's soccer league and were also the beverage sponsor for the Champions Tennis League started by Vijay Amritraj. Having said that, our association with cricket has become synonymous over the last few years," the spokesperson said.

After a series of match fixing scandals, PepsiCo had terminated its five-year contract as title sponsor for the IPL two years before its contract ended.

Basabdatta Chowdhury, chief operating officer of media buying firm Starcom Mediavest, said: "Cricket is a natural pull factor; specially for marketers with a youth male audience the sport is an obvious choice, given the following it has in the country."

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