Patanjali Again Backs Away from IPL Sponsorship

Published - 15 Mar 2018, 10:47 PM | Updated - 22 Aug 2024, 11:53 PM

Patanjali Ayurved will keep themselves away from India Premier League sponsorship yet again. As per quotes from Patanjali which is renowned as Baba Ramdev’s product won’t advertise in the league of the “foreigners game”. The brand has always stayed away from IPL as it believes it won’t invest in foreign leagues.

Patanjali Ayurved Chief executive Acharya Balakrishna told the Economic Times that FMCG brand won’t invest in a sport that is not Indian. .

“The sport (IPL) as it promotes consumerism and is sponsored by multinationals. Patanjali will invest in sports which are Indian and promote Indian sports at the grassroots such as wrestling and kabaddi,” ET has reported Acharya Balkrishan as saying. “We will continue to invest in local sports which promote the culture of the country,” Acharya Balkrishna added.

Patanjali has been the primary sponsor for the Indian wrestling league and has been supportive towards Kabaddi World Cup. The brand spends around Rs 400 crores marketing budget on news and FEC television platforms.

ICC, Test Cricket, T20 League, Kolkata — The eleventh edition of IPL will kick off on April 7. Photo Credit: IPL.

“Staying away from IPL is Patanjali’s smart strategy. While being questioned for its absence from one of India’s biggest marketing spaces, the brand is striking the subconscious of its consumers, and then responding by playing its biggest marketing card – Swadeshi. Otherwise, in modern day context cricket has become more Indian than any other sport. No other sport is depicted as “a religion” in India. No other nation controls cricket as much the world over as India does in all aspects of the sport,” said Chief Executive of Sporty Solutionz Ashish Chadha.

“Cricket is immensely contributing to the Indian exchequer, sports eco-system and the sports industry in the country. IPL has emerged as an indigenous Indian industry that is providing career opportunities and growth to ‘n’ number of people – professionals, skilled and unskilled. Players and officials are a very small chunk of that opportunities pool. Its commercial impact is global,” adds Chadha.