As the excitement over the forthcoming India-Pakistan cricket series reaches a new high, Team Samsung sprang a big surprise by bagging the official sponsorship for the Test and one day internationals series, set to begin in March.
In a statement issued from Pakistan, Shaharyar M. Khan, Chairman PCB stated, “I am very pleased to announce that Samsung have won the rights of Title Sponsorship for the India-Pakistan Test and one day series taking place in Pakistan. This award of sponsorship rights has resulted from a transparently conducted tender process.”
The two teams will now vie for the Samsung cup in both formats.
Ravinder Zutshi, Director-Sales, Samsung, said, “We are indeed very pleased to have secured the title rights to the forthcoming Indo-Pak Cricket Series .We believe that sports has a role in uniting communities across the globe, and more so in the case of cricket, which is a passion for people in both India and Pakistan. We are delighted to be able to bring this historic series to our consumers and join them in celebrating cricket in a spirit of friendship and healthy competition.”
In a related move, Hero Honda, has bagged the co-sponsorship of the series.
For the record, arch-rival LG electronics is the official sponsor of International Cricket Council (ICC) till 2007 and had recently launched a special campaign ‘LG- Captain of India’ to catch the cricket frenzy of the nation, with a media budget of around Rs 10 crore for the year 2004.