Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket team Kings XI Punjab has agreed a sponsorship deal with condom brand Manforce.
During the 2015 IPL season, which began this week, Manforce’s branding will feature on the back of the team’s playing shirts alongside main sponsor and heavy duty truck manufacturer Tata Motors Prima.
Manforce is a product of New Delhi based pharmaceuticals group Mankind. Its deal with Kings XI Punjab is the first of its kind in the IPL for a contraceptives brand.
Rajeev Shukla, governing council chairman of the IPL, told the Hindustan Times newspaper: “We have seen such products (male contraceptives) being advertised on TV during matches, but we don’t have guidelines that limit a franchise from getting one as a team sponsor.”
Kings XI Punjab, which will feature Australia World Cup winners Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell (pictured) and George Bailey this season, begins its 2015 campaign against Rajasthan Royals today (Friday).