Indian int'l cricketer Rohit Sharma is "one of the most sought after" cricketers in India, according to Balachandran & Malvania of the Indian BUSINESS STANDARD. Sharma will sign a Rs 2 crore ($313,000) deal with adidas "to sport their brand on his bat." Sharma was "seen walking onto the field" with adidas branding on his bat and jersey Wednesday. The brand "is currently endorsed by" fellow cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. A source said, "The whole idea is to introduce Sharma as Sachin's protege." Additionally, Sharma "is also expected to endorse a number of brands" and is likely to charge anything between Rs 75 lakh ($118,500) to Rs 1 crore ($157,000) per endorsement annually. Kwan Entertainment & Marketing Solutions COO Indranil Das Blah said, “Rohit is not a newcomer. He has been around for more than five years and his biggest problem was his inconsistent on-field performance even though he had tremendous talent. And now that he has backed up that potential with performances, his brand value is certainly seeing a surge." According to media buyers and planners, enquiries "have been on the rise from companies including Mobile handset makers, real estate developers, and clothing companies over the past few months and a number of deals are expected to be signed in the next three months." Balaji Spark Business Head Firoz Engineer said, “The timing, in my opinion, for Rohit could not have been better. He has had a very good year in all formats of the game. He has proved that he is maturing with each game. This makes him good choice for services and products like insurance, technology and real estate” (BUSINESS STANDARD, 11/13).
QUITE THE TEST: In Mumbai, Divyesh Singh reported the security measures taken by the Mumbai police for Tendulkar's 200th and final Test include "three deputy commissioners of police, 850 policemen -- including the ones from traffic and special branch -- 18 assistant commissioners of police, 35 police inspectors, 90 sub inspectors, 200 lady police officials, six teams of Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), 12 teams of Quick Response Team (QRT), 16 marksman vehicles, six companies of SRPF and 352 CCTV cameras" (MUMBAI MIRROR, 11/13).
