While the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin in less than 20 days, four IPL teams have yet to finalize their title sponsorship deals for this season. The IPL 2018 is the eleventh edition of the cash-rich tournament which will begin on April 7.
According to this Monday report in Inside Sport, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) are the four teams who have not finalized their title sponsors for this IPL season.
According to that report, KKR is talking with their old sponsors Nokia for this season. Nokia was KKR’s title sponsor for the first seven seasons before Gionee had taken over that role for the last three years. The two-time IPL champions (2012 and 2014) are eager to renew their deal with Nokia, but it has been still not implemented despite several discussions.
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Like KKR, Gionee was also the title sponsor for RCB during the last season. But this season, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has shown disinterest in the IPL.
The most surprising thing is that KKR and RCB are most successful two franchises for the sponsors in term of ROIs. But till the date, they haven’t finalized their title sponsor.
Meanwhile, SRH and RR are very close to finalizing their title sponsor deals. 2016 IPL winner SRH is almost ready to extend the deal with Ultratech Cement, who was their title sponsor for previous two years.
Inaugural IPL champions and returning in the tournament after the two-year suspension, RR is also in the ultimate stages to decide their title sponsorship for this season.
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Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Daredevils (DD) are the teams who have already decided their title sponsors.
CSK is one of the most successful teams in the tournament. However, the two-time IPL champions (2010 and 2011) had been also suspended for the last two seasons like RR. Talking about their sponsorship deals for this season, CSK has signed total eight brands, out of which the franchise owners India Cements and The Muthoot Group are the lead sponsors. Their other sponsors for the IPL 2018 are Gulf Oil, Equitas Small Finance Bank, HIL, Nippon Paint, Frooti and Act Fibernet.
Kent RO is the new title sponsor for KXIP, whose best IPL result was finishing as a runner-up in 2014. Hero Cycle was their last season’s title sponsor. KXIP has total 10 brands in their sponsorship list.
Most time IPL winners (three times) and also the defending champions for the IPL 2018, MI (2013, 2015 and 2017) has signed Samsung as their title sponsor for this season.
On the other hand, Daikin has remained the title sponsor for DD. This is the fourth consecutive years for Daikin to perform as DD’s title sponsor.
