Nine prominent companies, including Dream11, Ceat, Saudi Tourism, Aramco, Mastercard, RuPay, PhonePe, MyCircle11, and DP World, have acquired the tender documents for the associate and special partner slots in the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to sources familiar with the matter as per a report in Economic Times.

It’s noteworthy that five out of these nine companies are already existing sponsors of the IPL. Dream11, Saudi Tourism, and RuPay were previously associate sponsors, while Saudi Aramco held the orange and purple cap partner position, and Ceat was the strategic time-out partner.

“There will be a face-off between Dream11 and MyCircle11, both being from the fantasy sports category,” mentioned a senior advertising executive. Interestingly, newer companies like Cred, Upstox, and Paytm have reportedly refrained from participating in the IPL this time, aligning with a focus on cost reduction.

The last date for purchasing the request for quotation (RFQ) document was February 19, and the bids are required to be submitted by February 21. Despite reaching out to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), queries remained unanswered as of the time of reporting.

According to the RFQ issued by the BCCI on January 29, the base price for an associate partner is ₹65 crore per year for 74 matches. There are a total of six official partner slots available. The base prices for Orange & Purple Cap, Umpire, and strategic timeout partnerships are ₹60 crore, ₹50 crore, and ₹40 crore per year, respectively, for 74 matches.