SRI LANKA CRICKET has signed a joint three-year sponsorship agreement with Sri Lankan telecommunications company Dialog Axiata and the government-owned Sri Lanka Tea Board.
Dialog will get precedence for all home matches, with its logo on the front of all national team shirts, while the Sri Lanka Tea Board logo will be on the sleeves. When playing abroad, the two logos will swap places.
According to Sri Lankan news sources, the combined agreement is worth $10.5m – more than double the current deal with Sri Lankan mobile phone network Mobitel.
Dialog Axiata will contribute $5.9m, while the Sri Lanka Tea Board will pay $4.6m for its rights. Mobitel’s previous deal was worth slightly less than $4.7m.
Sri Lanka Cricket had initially aimed for one main sponsorship package covering both the front-of-shirt and sleeve logo, but chose the two highest bidding parties to split the sponsorship at a reduced rate. The sponsorship will begin on June 1 this year.
By Robin Jellis
Follow Robin on Twitter: @robinjellis