The Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchises from the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 domestic cricket competition have both brought in Indian fantasy gaming site Dream11 as a main sponsor for the upcoming 2024 IPL.
This entails Dream11 becoming a front-of-shirt sponsor for both sides and indeed the title sponsor for the Punjab Kings. The deals were unveiled by the franchises late last week, with this year’s IPL set to start on March 22 (Friday).
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Satish Menon, chief executive of KPH Dream Cricket Limited (which runs the Punjab Kings), said: “Dream11 has reinvented the world of sports and fan engagement. Dream11 has been responsible for spreading the game's reach across different regions of the country through innovative means of fan involvement.”
Last season, neither the Punjab Kings nor the Knight Riders made the IPL playoffs.
Dream11 has now added the Punjab Kings and the Knight Riders to its existing primary sponsorship with their IPL rivals the Gujarat Titans, as was announced earlier this month.
The fantasy gaming heavyweight has been a keen sponsor of cricket in India over recent years – indeed, it is currently the main commercial partner of the men’s national team. In addition, it has a tie-up in place with the equivalent Women’s Premier League.
It also served as the title sponsor for the IPL itself in 2020 (this year, that slot is taken by Tata Group).
Elsewhere in the IPL, the Rajasthan Royals have extended their sponsorship deal with the Schneider Electric brand.
That firm, for the third consecutive season, will hold the role of the Royals’ official sustainability partner during the 2024 season.
The Royals, earlier this month, struck a commercial deal with Saudi Arabian ‘sustainable urban development’ Neom.
The franchise will wear Neom branding on the secondary front-of-shirt sponsorship spot through the 2024 and 2025 IPL seasons.
