The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set to rest the speculation of who will be replacing Dream11 as the headline sponsor for the Indian men’s cricket team and the Indian women’s cricket team by announcing Apollo Tyres as the designated choice. The sponsorship deal was announced on Tuesday, is worth ₹579 crore (approximately to US $65.7 million), and will be in place for 2 and a half years through March 2028.
This partnership is a lucrative jump in sponsorship value, and it certainly showcases the undeniable commercial appeal of Indian cricket. BCCI stated that the sponsorship agreement came about after a competitive bidding process, and a decision was made whereby aligning with a globally recognized brand that also has significant financial capability to support Team India was paramount.
Why Dream11 Pulled Out
Dream11, the fantasy sports platform, had a ₹358 crore (US$44 million) sponsorship agreement with the BCCI in place from 2023-2026. However, events took a dramatic turn after the Indian government passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025, which prohibited real-money online gaming – Dream11’s business model led to the company’s withdrawal from its sponsorship agreement.
As a result, the Indian teams played this year without any sponsor on their jerseys. The men’s team is currently playing in the Asia Cup, being hosted in the UAE and the women’s team is playing a bilateral ODI series at home against Australia without a lead sponsor until after the new deal was issued.
Restrictions on Eligible Sponsors
When the BCCI opened up the bidding process on September 2, 2025, even before the bidder’s briefing, BCCI had in place a policy to restrict the eligible sponsors. Companies with association to alcohol, gambling, online money gaming, cryptocurrencies, tobacco or any company in which the BCCI did not consider to be in the public’s best interest were ruled out. Apollo Tyres was the successful bidder before the September 16 deadline.
A Major Boost for Apollo Tyres
For Apollo Tyres, this transaction represents great value for more than just the exposure-it is an international showcase. Cricket is among the most watched sporting events globally, with a keen audience in India, and now their logo will travel all over the world with Team India. For the BCCI this is another step taken to strengthen the commercial spine for Indian cricket.