BCCI’s sponsorship cursed? The growing brand casualty list FT. Dream11

The official team sponsor of the Indian Cricket Team is the award -winning performance of corporate marketing. Packed with stadiums and billions of coordination with various temporary and digital platforms, a sponsor logo on the breast commands of the players, unparalleled visibility and brand reminder. Since 2001, every company that has held this valued position has been entangled in disputes – legal fights, legal action or serious financial stress. The newest participant, Dream11Now confronts his own existential crisis in the midst of radical legislation against real money gaming.

Dream11 and other Fantasy Gaming apps Fiasco with the Indian government

In 2023, Dream11 assumed that Jersey-Front invoicing in the midst of rising valuations for the greatest fantasy gaming platform in India. Users assemble virtual teams of real players and bets on their performances – a model that dram11 drove to unicorn status. However, on August 21, 2025, the parliament passed the Promotion and regulation of online gaming accountThat categorically prohibits real-money-gaming apps. As soon as the president signs the bill, the core product of Dream11 will be banned nationwide.

These regulatory folding connections earlier problems. At the beginning of 2025, Dream11 received a tax question of approximately RS 1,200 Crore for alleged GST avoidance, although it successfully disputed one notification. Fresh control by tax authorities remains threatening and doubts about the ability of the company to finance its multi -year sponsor commitments until 2026. Without a legal solution, Dream11 threatens to lose its primary source of income and, by extension, the selection framework on the sweater of Team India.

1. Sahara (2001–2013): The longest run ends in collapse

Sahara group‘The 12-year-old association with Team India remains the longest sponsor possession BCCI history. At the height, the brand became synonymous with Indian Cricket, which projected financial power and mass market appeal power. But behind the glitter, Sahara was involved in what would become one of India’s most notorious business scandals.

Accused of increasing nearly £ 24,000 crore by dubious investor schedules, the conglomerate spent years locked up in bruises with market giver Sebi. In 2014, founder Subrata RoyThe arrest For contempt of the court symbolized the dramatic downfall of the group. What started when the most sustainable partnership of Cricket ended up as a legally warning story about the ambition.

Also read: Dream11 and other cricket fantasy apps suspend real money on gaming activities

2. Star India (2014–2017): The fading glow of a media giant

When Indian star Sahara replaced, the deal seemed seamless: a broadcaster supported by Disney that has cricket rights, the command recorder and driving on the digital streaming golf by Hotstar. But cracks soon appeared.

The Competition Commission of India has initiated probes in alleged monopolistic practices, while Hotstar struggled to convert rising traffic into sustainable profits in the midst of increasing competition. By 2017, the independent identity of Star was diluted by his merger with Jio, which reduced the once dominant media impire to just another gear in India’s consolidating telecom roast cast Juggernaut.

3. Oppo (2017-2020): smartphones and short -lived glory

In 2017, Oppo burst on stage with a £ 1,079 crore sponsor deal, signaling of the intention to deduct Apple and Samsung into the fast -growing smartphone market of India. For a while the name decorated with the sweaters of Team India the visibility in every living room in the country.

Yet the Halo faded quickly. Patent fight with Nokia And Interdigital The company consumed, while geopolitical tensions fed the growing skepticism for Chinese brands. By 2020, Oppo left early and ran away from one of the most appreciated marketing platforms after he had not translated Cricket -Buzz into sustainable market share.

4. Byju’s (2020–2022): Edtech’s Meteoric Rise and Spiral

When Sahara symbolized the life and symbolized the ambition, Byju toThe startup tree of India. In 2020, when the Pandemie Feeded Online Feeded Online, the Edtech Giant took over the sponsorship of the Jersey at the height of his appreciation – a stunning $ 22 billion.

But fast global expansion hidden deep financial cracks. Losing assembly and standard settings of payments are quickly overtaken. In 2022, insolvency requests were created and in 2023 the BCCI BYJUs dragged to the National Company Law Tribunal over an unpaid £ 158 crore sponsor option. What was once a symbol of India’s New-Age entrepreneurship ended in a dramatic descent to debts and cuts.

5. Dream11 (2023 – Present): Fantasy turns into an uncertain reality

Dream11’s Fantasy-Sports platform revolutionized a revolution in fan-engagement when it took over the sponsorship in 2023. Nevertheless, the core activity of money Gamen-Nu is confronted with an existential threat of the 2025 bill that Bans paid Gaming apps downright. Already staggering from an RS 1,200 crore GST question and the new tax trabes, Dream11’s multi-year jersey deal can become an albatros instead of a billboard, because the central income flow runs the risk of being walked from existence.

Also read: 3 reasons why the ban on gambling apps such as Dream11 is the right move