Indian multinational Balkrishna Industries Ltd. (BKT) has signed a three year sponsorship agreement with the Australian cricket league KFC Big Bash League (BBL).
BKT Extend Sports Sponsorship to Australian Cricket Tournament
BKT tyres have been available in Australia through its Australian distributor Tradefaire for almost a decade, providing large-scale tyres to farmers and in the mining sector.
The partnership announcement was held at the home of Australian cricket, the MCG, and attended by Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting, executives from BKT in India including its Joint Managing Director Rajiv Poddar, Cricket Australia Head of Big Bash Leagues, Kim McConnie and Mr Hari Parsad, India’s Acting Counsel General in Melbourne. The event was hosted by high-profile Indian actress, fashion designer and television presenter Mandira Bedi.
BKT’s decision to partner with the BBL was motivated by the Group’s passion and enthusiasm for cricket, by the opportunity of reinforcing its brand awareness in the country, and the BBL’s alignment to BKT’s “Growing Together” philosophy. In this specific case, growing together means to support and sustain cricket in Australia in order to see talent grow and attract attention for the competition on an international level.
As part of the BBL announcement, BKT and Tradefaire handed over cheques totalling $30,000 to provide support to Australian charities, particularly assisting the struggling farming communities.
A $20,000 cheque was given to Aussie Helpers, a charity based in New South Wales, which assists struggling farmers with individual help, depending on their needs. Recently Aussie Helpers has given a $4,000 cash gift card to 500 of the farmers that were most affected by one of the worst droughts ever.
A $10,000 cheque was given to Ronald McDonald House in Tamworth, a charity offering accommodation for struggling rural families of sick children in Tamworth Hospital. The money was raised by Tradefaire through a gold coin donation for a BKT sports ball at its stand at the Agquip Field Days. Tradefaire has been supporting this charity for the last 5 years and has given away approximately 4,000 balls each year.
