Every season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) brings with it new breakout stars and this season has been no different. From 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals who announced his arrival in style to Yashasvi Jaiswal, the new crop of emerging stars is not just winning love from fans but is also firmly on the marketing world’s radar.
On the other side of the pitch are players like Rishabh Pant of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) Rinku Singh and Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) Ravindra Jadeja that have been plagued by poor form this year. While Pant has endorsed brands like Swiggy, Dream11 and Thums Up, Jadeja has endorsed Adidas and Hisense and Singh has endorsed JBL, Beast Life and My11Circle.
According to data by eDART IPL’25 from CrispInsight and Kadence International, these are three names in a list of several players that seem to have lost steam in terms of fan following. Other Indian players that find themselves on the list include Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings), CSK talisman MS Dhoni and Abhishek Sharma (Sunrisers Hyderabad).
Ritesh Ghosal, partner, CrispInsight, says that Rishabh Pant’s value to brands may particularly see some impact on the back of his underwhelming performance this season. “Though his elevation to the position of captain and the much-improved showing by LSG under him is a balancing force, overall, his popularity is marginally lower now compared to the start of the IPL,” says Ghosal.
It is still early to say how badly Pant or Jadeja may be hit on the endorsement front. Brands may wait and watch before switching endorsers. Ghosal adds on-field performance is not everything. Stars need to translate performance into a fan-following, camera-friendliness and recognition.
This perhaps also explains why Pant’s appeal as brand endorser is vastly different from a cricketing icon like MS Dhoni, who despite his poor run this season, continues to be a fan favourite, third in the pecking order after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, notes Ghosal.
According to Santosh N, managing partner, D&P Advisory, Dhoni’s brand appeal has long transcended on-field performance and he has become a timeless asset for brands. “In the case of players like Rishabh Pant on the other hand, this is a single underwhelming season after a major comeback. Most brands are likely to stay invested, viewing this as a temporary blip rather than a long-term concern,” remarks Santosh.
Game of star power
Players that are stuck somewhere in mid-career limbo without a strong personal brand are more at risk when it comes to brand endorsements. Rajnish Rawat co-founder & CEO, Social Pill, points out that past glories do not sell the way they used to.
Noting that Suryavanshi’s name is already being discussed in marketing brainstorming discussions, Rawat says, “We’ve seen this with Neeraj Chopra and Shefali Verma. The market doesn’t wait for consistency, it rewards breakout moments instantly. Brands are likely to move fast, especially the digital-first, youth-obsessed ones,” he says.
Suryavanshi may be trending in IPL conversations but has yet to sign a brand deal and experts believe he needs to wait and avoid possible overexposure.
He’s not the only emerging star that brands have their eye on though. Sandeep Ranade, executive vice president and head of Quantitative Research Division at Hansa Research says that that players like Ayush Mhatre (CSK), Abhishek Porel (Delhi Capitals), Priyansh Arya (Punjab Kings) and Digvesh Rathi (LSG) could also be on the shortlists for endorsements, depending on factors like their popularity in relevant consumer groups.
Other rising stars that industry experts have singled out are Mumbai Indians’ Vignesh Puthur and Tilak Varma, Gujarat Titans’ Sai Sudarsan and Yashasvi Jaiswal of Rajasthan Royals. Among these, Jaiswal has already signed deals with boAt and Herbalife India, while Varma has been roped in by brands like Boost and Birla Opus Paints.
MS Divya, business director, ITW Universe, opines that fans tend to have short attention spans and other than those with the calibre of a Sachin Tendulkar, Dhoni or Kohli with their huge following, many cricket stars tend to fade away. Cricketing stars need to find ways to strengthen their brand off the field. “A robust presence on social media and in recent times, podcasts and videos that talk to a specific audience is one good way to do this,” says Divya. The idea is to remain in the conversation because ultimately, relevance and pop culture cachet is important to brands.