The two decades — spanning from Old Trafford to Mirpur and from Boost to Coke — saw a century of the Century.
Sachin's maiden Test century started as ‘119 not out' at Old Trafford in England in 1990, and his association with ‘Boost' that began then remained not out.
It was the time when the satellite channels were making an entry in the country and our own ‘Doordarshan' was airing the cricket legend Kapil Dev with a boy called Sachin endorsing ‘Boost' as their secret of their energy.
His association with Pepsi, which began in 1992, continued till 2009.
Sensing the opportunities in the craze for cricket in India and the growing Indian economy, the sports management personality the late Mark Mascarenhas of WorldTel clinched a deal to manage the commercial endorsements and marketing activities of Sachin for a reported Rs 30 crore in 1995 for five years.
This was the sum quite unheard of for a cricketer till then.
In one of the media interviews in 1995, the late Mascarenhas was asked what did the deal with Sachin meant for him.
The interviewer then got the reply that his company would develop a ‘corporation' of Sachin.
All of us have seen Sachin hitting centuries with his famous MRF bats over the years.
The endorsement deal with MRF — one of the tyre manufactures in the country – began in 1999 and continued till 2009.
Of course, now he endorses Adidas logo on his bat.
With the 1995 deal coming to an end with WorldTel, Sachin re-entered into a deal with WorldTel in 2001. However, this time the contract was estimated at Rs 80 crore to handle his commercial endorsements and marketing activities for the next five years.
The first decade of the new millennium saw him endorsing products such as Adidas, Britannia, Fiat Palio, TVS, Canon, and AirTel.
In 2006, he signed a contract with Satchi and Satchi's Iconix valued at Rs 180 crore for three years, marking yet another record in his brand endorsement and marketing activities.
At present, World Sport Group manages the branding and endorsement deals of the cricketer.
Now displayed on hundreds of TV channels, YouTube's billboards and so on, the cricketing legend has created a new path for branding and endorsement.