PepsiCo, which pulled out as title sponsor of the Board of Control for Cricket in India-backed Indian Premier League in October, on Thursday "entered into a four-year partnership with the apex cricket body as an associate sponsor" for all its int'l matches at home, according to DNA INDIA. This would make PepsiCo the BCCI's official partner for refreshment, snacks and drinks "besides grounds right where the beverage firm would have visibility on the field." The announcement comes four months after PepsiCo withdrew as title sponsor of the IPL by "walking out" from its five-year contract which was due to expire in '17. BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur said that besides PepsiCo, there "would be two other associate sponsors of BCCI," from which it would get Rs 150 crore ($2.18M). He added that the names of "the other two sponsors will be announced in the next 7-10 days" (DNA INDIA, 3/3). In Mumbai, Ravi Teja Sharma reported the four year on-ground sponsorship deal with PepsiCo will "kickstart from Bangladesh's tour of India later this year and will give PepsiCo onground visibility and pouring and snacking rights in around 20 matches a year." Also Gatorade "will be the new performance drink for team India." PepsiCo India Chair/CEO D. Shivakumar said, "When PepsiCo had parted ways with IPL, we had said that we are not parting ways with BCCI. It is the beginning of a new chapter in our longstanding association with BCCI" (ECONOMIC TIMES, 3/3).
