Brands set out to open an innings with Mithali Raj

Indian women’s cricket seems to have finally attracted the attention of brands across categories such as financial services, FMCG and telecom.

Companies are looking to cash in on the global stardom of Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj. Some movie production houses have evinced interest in buying rights to make a biopic inspired by her journey so far.

Delhi-based sports management firm Medallin, which manages Raj, said enquiries by brands across categories have started pouring in.

Vivek Ramanarayanan of Medallin Sports told BusinessLine , “Brands from categories such as financial services and electrical goods, among others, have started enquiring about prospective brand endorsement deals for Mithali Raj. Also, some production companies have made enquiries for a biopic movie deal. She has been trending across all platforms and is an inspiration for young girls.”

Thirty-four-year-old Raj has a bat and apparel brand association deal in place, and has in the past been roped in by companies for speaking engagements on leadership.

Celebrity managers said brands that do not have big budgets to strike expensive deals with men cricket celebrities are likely to look at leveraging Raj’s strong recall value with endorsement deals.

Sources pegged Raj’s endorsement deals at ₹15-20 lakh. She is known to charge about ₹10 lakh for her speaking engagements.

Indranil Das Blah, Founding Partner of celebrity management and sports marketing firm Kwan, said there is a lot of interest among brands for endorsement deals with Raj. Kwan has worked in collaboration with Medallin Sports on some projects for Raj in the past.

“Indian women cricket viewership reached its tipping point last week and this is expected to benefit a few of the players, especially Mithali Raj. Telecom companies, FMCG brands and other companies associated with cricket have been enquiring about opportunities to sign endorsement deals with her,” he added.

Though talent managers pointed out that women cricket matches need to be in the spotlight consistently for a stronger brand recall as well as for more women cricketers to have a better shot at endorsement deals.

Tuhin Mishra, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Baseline Ventures, said: “Cricketers who perform well at some IPL matches faced similar challenges. An athlete or a cricketer needs to perform consistently and be in the spotlight to maintain high recall value.”

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