BCCI claims Byju’s has defaulted payments over ₹158 crores, files case at NCLT 

Byju's contract with the BCCI for them being the lead sponsor finished in March 2023.

BCCI claims Byju’s has defaulted payments over ₹158 crores, files case at NCLT 

Byju's debuted as the lead sponsor in India's tour of Australia in 2020 (Image via ESPN)

In 2019, Byju’s, an ed-tech firm became India’s new shirt sponsors. They took over from Oppo and paid ₹4.61 crore per bilateral match and ₹1.51 crore per ICC match. Recently the firm was caught in financial issues, with them not extending their contract with the BCCI in March 2023. 

Now it has been revealed by the National Company Law Tribunal that the BCCI filed a claim against them. The BCCI claims that the ed-tech firm owed them ₹158 crore and had defaulted on their payments. The NCLT has given Byju’s 2 weeks to reply and one week to the BCCI after that. 

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Byju’s had to cancel their extension with the BCCI due to various financial and legal issues, with their founder even pledging his home to pay his staff. This caused the team to play without a sponsor till the West Indies tour, with India playing without a sponsor in the 2023 WTC finals.

How did Dream11 bag the rights for lead sponsor? 

When the BCCI opened the tenders to the lead shirt sponsor, only DisneyStar and Dream11 purchased for the tenders. Many commented that the price the BCCI had set was much lower than before, yet only two teams bought the tenders. 

Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh playing with an Indian kit with Dream11 as sponsors (Image via ESPN)

They bought the rights for ₹358 crore and will be on the shirts of every Indian Cricket Team, Men’s, Women’s and U19 teams included. The deal started from July 2023 and will continue till March 2026. The fantasy gaming firm will be paying ₹3 crore per bilateral and ₹1 crore per matches in ICC events. 

The BCCI had banned crypto-currency companies, tobacco companies and real-money gambling firms from applying. Along with Dream11, Adidas are the kit sponsors, SBI Life are the official partners and IDFC First Bank are the title sponsors. Viacom18 broadcast every match for the BCCI. 

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