India men’s cricket team during the Asia Cup. (AP)

New Delhi: Apollo Tyres will be the new jersey sponsor of the Indian cricket team and will be shelling out approximately Rs 4.5 crores per bilateral game, significantly up from the Rs 4 crore previous sponsors Dream11 were paying. The sponsorship period is set to run until 2027 with as many as 130 fixtures falling in that period.With India due to play 141 matches during the tenure – 121 bilaterals and 20 in the ICC – Apollo Tyres will fork out Rs 579.06 crore. At a successful bid of Rs 4.5 crore per bilateral game and Rs 1.72 crore for each ICC fixture, Apollo Tyres’ overall bid was the highest.TimesofIndia.com has learnt that Canva and JK Cement were the other two bidders who came to the table. It is further understood that Birla Optus Paints seemed keen to invest but didn’t want to participate in a bidding process.

The bidding process for the jersey sponsorship happened on September 16. BCCI had invited bids for Expression of Interest for Indian team’s Lead Sponsor Rights on September 2. In that release, the Indian cricket board had made it clear that gaming, betting, crypto and tobacco brands were prohibited from bidding. Athleisure and sportswear manufacturers, banking, financial companies, non-alcoholic cold beverages, fans, mixer grinders, safety locks and insurance companies were also not be eligible.Sponsorship bidders for Indian cricket team’s jersey

There was an immediate need to look for a new sponsor after Dream11 made an exit due to the government’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 which impacted the brand and its operations at a large level.The Indian cricket team are currently playing without a jersey sponsor in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.