The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with BharatPe, India’s leading financial services company, for merchants from 2021 to 2023.

The agreement will ensure BharatPe’s involvement and integration at all ICC events throughout the term, according to a statement put out by the ICC.

The events include the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (Southampton, UK 2021), ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (India, 2021), ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (Australia, 2022), ICC Women’s World Cup (New Zealand, 2022), ICC U19 Cricket World Cup (West Indies, 2022), ICC Women’s T20 World Cup (South Africa, 2022), ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup (India, 2023) and ICC World Test Championship (2023).

As a prestigious partner of the ICC, BharatPe will promote the association across broadcast and digital platforms, as well as execute in-venue brand activations at all the ICC events.

In addition to extensive and integrated brand presence for BharatPe across a host of ICC events, this partnership will also enable BharatPe to roll out innovative campaigns to connect and engage with millions of cricket fans and shop owners across the country, an official statement put out by the ICC stated.

The ICC partnership is an organic extension to BharatPe’s existing brand strategy centered around cricket. The company currently has its own ‘Team BharatPe’ comprising of 11 Indian cricket stars as its brand ambassadors, including Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Shubhman Gill.

Speaking about the partnership, Anurag Dahiya, Chief Commercial Officer, ICC, said in a statement, “We are pleased to have BharatPe on board as a partner for all our marquee tournaments, beginning with the final of the ICC World Test Championship between India and New Zealand to be held in Southampton in June.

“Our women’s and men’s events, provide leading brands an unparalleled, high-reach platform for conversations with very involved and passionate fans. Our commercial partners have greatly benefitted from working with us on our events and 2021-23 presents a unique opportunity with 5 senior level World Cups taking place, which will set the stage for reaching out to an unprecedented number of cricket fans.”

Speaking on this strategic partnership, Ashneer Grover, Co-Founder and CEO, BharatPe said, “We are excited to enter into a strategic association with ICC and look forward to partnering with them for the world’s most prestigious and celebrated cricketing tournaments over the next 3 years. We believe that cricket is one of the biggest unifiers – that cut across geographies and/or languages.

“I am confident that this association will enable us to build a stronger relationship with our existing merchants, as well as engage better with millions of new, small merchants across the length and breadth of India. It is a matter of immense pride for us that BharatPe, a truly Indian company that started its journey just 2.5 years ago, will be representing the nation on global platforms of ICC.”