Muthoot Fincorp has acquired the title sponsorship rights for Indian cricket’s next two home seasons, Cricbuzz understands. The Kochi-based financial services company, whose deal will be branded as ‘Blue Muthoot’, is understood to have negotiated the rights at the base price of INR 4.85 crore per match, though sources suggest the final figure could come in slightly below that. Formal clarity is expected once the BCCI makes an official announcement.
The deal covers all international and domestic matches played in India until March 31, 2028, encompassing approximately 35 home internationals across that period. That includes 10 Tests, 12 ODIs and 13 T20Is. The partnership takes effect immediately, with the ODI series against the West Indies, beginning September 27, serving as the first assignment under the new title sponsor. There is a neat coincidence to that starting point. The opening ODI of that series is scheduled in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, which happens to be the home state of the Muthoot family that owns the company.
What the Muthoot Fincorp Deal Reveals About Indian Cricket’s Sponsorship Landscape
The path to this announcement was anything but straightforward. The BCCI had set August 13 as the deadline for bids following the release of its Invitation to Tender, but no bidders came forward by that date. Industry sources pointed to the high base price as the primary reason for the lack of interest, a threshold that reportedly deterred several parties from entering the process.
With no competitive bidding taking place, the BCCI moved into direct negotiations with a range of prospective sponsors. Google Gemini, IDFC First Bank, Spinny and SBI Life were among those reportedly approached during that period. IDFC First Bank, the outgoing title sponsors who had been paying INR 4.2 crore per match, did not retain the rights, though they were one of the parties engaged in discussions.
SBI Life ultimately signed on as an Associate Partner of the BCCI rather than a title sponsor, joining Campa and ChatGPT in that tier. All three companies have committed to two-season agreements running alongside Muthoot Fincorp’s title deal through March 2028.
The outcome reflects a broader truth about the commercial landscape around Indian cricket at the moment. While the IPL continues to command extraordinary sums from broadcasters and sponsors alike, the bilateral international calendar has found it harder to attract the same level of competitive interest from the corporate market. A title sponsorship for Indian home cricket remains one of the more coveted properties in the sport, but the absence of a bidding war suggests that at the price points the BCCI was seeking, the pool of willing buyers has narrowed.
For Muthoot Fincorp, the association with Indian cricket across two full home seasons offers significant brand visibility, not least because the schedule includes marquee series against major Test nations. The fact that the deal kicks off on home soil in Kerala adds a layer of symbolism that the company will not be unhappy about.
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