It was recently learned that the Indian cricket team is set to sport a new brand on their jersey. The Indian cricketers will get a new jersey as Chinese mobile manufacturer Oppo has handed over the sponsorship rights to Byju’s, which is an educational technology and online tutorial firm. The Men in Blue will don the newly-sponsored outfit from September 5, 2019, to March 31, 2022.
After the completion of the West Indies tour, Virat Kohli & Co. are scheduled to play a home T20I and Test series against South Africa. The fixtures start with the 20-over matches, which gets underway on Sunday, September 15. Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already named a 15-man squad for the T20I series. However, the same was preponed by a week.
Earlier it was reported that the Indian squad for South Africa series would be put forth on September 4. But the selectors were asked to pick the team on a short notice on Thursday (August 29). The note was sent in the morning, and a telephone conversation took place last evening to select the players. It’s been known that the selectors were at different locations- Trivandrum, New Delhi, Bangalore, and Kingston – and were on phone calls.
Rahul Johri, the Chief Executive of the BCCI, said that the selection date had to be preponed due to logistical reasons. However, as per reports in Mumbai Mirror, the advancement was a necessary one because the team’s apparel sponsors (Nike) needed time to prepare new jerseys which will have a Byju’s logo.
The BCCI’s deal with Byju’s begins from September 1 and the world’s richest cricket board was needed to give Nike the time to prepare the new jerseys.
India and South Africa will play the three T20Is on September 15, 18 and 22 in Dharamshala, Mohali, and Bangalore respectively.
