The International Cricket Council (ICC) has agreed to a three-year global partnership deal with Indian Edu-Tech firm BYJU’S. This deal will see BYJU’S be the partner of all ICC tournaments between 2021 and 2023. The first big ICC event that will see BYJU’S working with ICC will be the World test championship that will be hosted by England in June this year. In women’s cricket, BYJU’S first assignment with ICC will be the 50 overs World Cup hosted by New Zealand in 2022.
By working closely with ICC during the international tournaments, BYJU’S will be getting a tremendous brand presence across the globe. The biggest Indian Edu-tech firm will also work with ICC to improve the engagement with fans through innovative campaigns.
BYJU’S will join the league of OPPO, MRF Tyres, Booking.com, Nissan, and Emirates who are the existing global partners of the governing body of international cricket.
The deal with ICC is a massive coup for BYJU’S. This is not the first time BYJU’S has been investing in cricket. They have been working with the Indian Cricket team as Indian team sponsors since 2019. The logo of the Edu-tech firm is visible on the kits of Indian teams across all formats.
BYJU’S had also made a firm bid for the title sponsorship of Indian Premier League 2020 after Vivo had terminated their contract, but they were eventually beaten by a better bid from Dream11. It will be intriguing to see if they come up with an improved bid to sponsor IPL 2021 as the future of the association between IPL and Vivo does look uncertain, subject to BCCI allowing an Edu-tech brand to bid due to an existing partnership with Unacademy.
After signing the deal with ICC and already having a long-term deal with BCCI, BYJU’S have further cemented themselves as one of the biggest Indian investor in cricket. ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney admitted that the deal with BYJU’S will help cricket to better the relationship with both younger and older audiences.
Sawhney said, “We are excited to have BYJU’S on board as one of our global partners and look forward to having a great innings together. Cricket is a sport where resilience, perseverance and conviction are crucial qualities and the partnership with BYJU’S will allow that to be fostered by a wider audience both young and old.”
Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO, BYJU’S said, “We are excited to partner with ICC in championing world cricket. Sports is a big part of life for most Indians and cricket, in particular, holds a very special place in our hearts. It is a matter of pride for us as an Indian company to represent our nation on a global platform like this. Just as cricket inspires billions across the world, we too as a learning company hope to inspire the love of learning in every child’s life.”