Nike pays $43 million to supply India's kit

Kiran More poses with the new Indian one-day kit © AFP

Nike has signed a $43-million deal to kit out the Indian team after outbidding rivals Reebok and Adidas, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Friday.

The five-year contract, which starts on January 1, 2006, also gives Nike the rights to sell the BCCI's official merchandise at its retail outlets across the country.

Nike's bid for 1.97 billion rupees topped Reebok's offer of 1.19 billion rupees and Adidas's bid of 1.28 billion rupees, BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi said. "The aim was to maximise the gains from the game for the benefit of the game," he explained. "The BCCI is looking at exploring new sources of revenue and would soon open itself to product merchandising, ground sponsorship and other licensing as part of its strategy to market the game."

Nike's coup follows the BCCI's tie-up this week with Sahara India group to be the official sponsor of the Indian team for four years at a whopping $70 million.