Kings XI Punjab has got their title sponsor. Kent RO will be seen on the front of the shirt of Punjab’s team. Contrary to the last few years where the KXIP could only manage last minute distress deal for its principal sponsorship, Kent RO deal has been a welcome change.

The water purifier brand has replaced Hero group-owned Hero Cycles, after their last year’s stint as the title sponsor.

According to insidesport.co sources, Preity Zinta’s team this time has been able to manage an increase of 35-40% for its title deal. The team’s CEO though refused to divulge the exact value of the deal but confirmed that team is getting better traction from the sponsors this year.

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According to Satish Menon, CEO of the Punjab franchise, most of their key sponsorship inventory has been sold out.

“We are getting an overwhelming response from the brands who are looking forward to target the local market in Punjab. We are happy that 90% of our inventory is sold out,” added Satish.

Not only Kent RO is on board for Kings XI Punjab, they also have managed to close some other key sponsorship deals with 8 weeks to go for IPL season xI. Royal Stag, Detergent brand Fena (official partner), Lotus Herbals are few other brands who will be seen on KXIP’S t-shirt this year.

KXIP, who had spent their entire purse (79.9 cr) to acquire 21 players (including 1 retention and 3 RTMs) during the dazzling event of the Vivo IPL Auctions 2018, has managed to build a strong team.

Ravichandran Ashwin was their first buy of the auction for them. KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh, Mayank Agrawal, Aaron Finch and Andrew Tye were the other buys for KXIP. They capped off this auction buy buying Chris Gayle for his base price of Rs 2 crore.

Also Read: KXIP wants to change their name

In fact, KXIP, apart from new sponsors and fresh-looking squad, are seeking more changes. The franchise has reportedly filed a request to BCCI for the change of its name and is also looking forward to shifting their base out of Punjab.

Kings XI Punjab, who have Indore as their second home venue, had earlier cited poor fan support and week football at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.