When defending champions Mumbai Indians hit the ground for practice ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting on 7 April, captain Rohit Sharma and his squad could be seen donning team jerseys with a new sponsor name on the front: Samsung. The franchise has got a new sponsorship deal, with Samsung India, a leading brand in mobile phones and consumer electronics, signing up as the principal sponsor of Mumbai Indians.

The 11th edition of IPL is scheduled to begin on 7 April and continue till 27 May, 2018. Rohit Sharma’s team will play the inaugural match against Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings that is making a comeback to the cash-rich league after a two-year suspension due to fixing.

“Samsung and Mumbai Indians have a lot of similarities as a brand. Both brands are consistent and are very visible. Mumbai Indians is the only team in the league that has won the IPL three times. Samsung is the most loved and trusted brand in India and has been No. 1 across categories for many years. We are excited to be the principal sponsor of Mumbai Indians and are sure the coming together of two top brands will bring even more excitement to the IPL and to all cricket lovers around the world,” Ranjivjit Singh, Chief Marketing Officer, Samsung India, said in a statement.

Samsung will also be seen on the perimeter boards and the player dugout. At the Wankhede Stadium, the home ground of the defending champions, the North Stand has been designated Samsung North Stand.

Earlier, Videocon d2H had been associated with the Mumbai Indians IPL team as one of the principal sponsors for six years — in 2010 and from 2013 to 2017.

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“We are proud to have Samsung as the principal sponsor of Mumbai Indians. We are sure that with this association, the brand will bring in more value to the fans,” said a Mumbai Indians spokesperson.

During the tournament, Samsung’s official online store will run a Twenty20 themed sale of mobile products from April 12-14, 2018, where first 50 orders from Mumbai will get IPL match tickets.

Mumbai Indians, owned by Reliance Industries, has been the most successful IPL team till date, having won the league final in 2013, 2015 and 2017. The team won the 2011 and 2013 editions of the Champions League Twenty20 as well.

Here’s the Mumbai Indians squad for IPL 2018:
Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Kieron Pollard, Pat Cummins, Evin Lewis, Suryakumar Yadav, Ben Cutting, Mustafizur Rahman, Rahul Chahar, Pradeep Sangwan, Jason Behrendorff, Jean-Paul Duminy, Saurabh Tiwary, Tajinder Dhillon, Akila Dhananjaya, Nidheesh M D Dinesan, Aditya Tare, Siddhesh Dinesh Lad, Mayank Markande, Sharad Lumba, Anukul Roy, Mohsin Khan