Shafali Verma: The Woman in Blue brands will likely be watching closely

After Bank of Baroda and Hyundai, the cricket star is expected to pick up more endorsements, say brand experts

Cricketer Shafali Verma rewrote history on Sunday when the Under-19 Women's Cricket Team captained by her walked away with its first T20 World Cup.

It was both a personal and professional triumph for the 19-year-old from Rohtak, Haryana, who became the youngest Indian cricketer in 2021 to make a debut across formats.

Till Sunday, Indian women cricketers had not won a World Cup title in any format, though they had reached the finals on three occasions: the 2005 and 2017 Cricket World Cups in the 50-overs format, and the 2020 T20 World Cup. These outings involved the Senior Women's Cricket team.

The last one – 2020 T20 World Cup – had Verma in the playing squad. But that was then.

The Verma of 2023, cricket experts say, is far more mature in both her game and attitude.

As N Chandramouli, chief executive officer of Mumbai-based brand consultancy TRA Research, explains that the world has changed for women's cricket in the last three years.

"Shafali is among those players who have turned a spotlight on women's cricket with their skill and talent on field,” he says. “The Under-19 T20 World Cup also saw her display her leadership skills. Brands will take note of this, especially since the first Women's Premier League is round the corner. She could be a top draw at the player auctions as well as the tournament."

She already has names such as Bank of Baroda and Hyundai on her roster, and she’s likely to pick up more deals in the near future, say brand experts.

Baseline Ventures, the firm that manages her brand endorsements, was not immediately available for comment.

Celebrity managers in the know say that categories such as sports drinks, sportswear and digital payments would be likely segments that would tap her as a brand ambassador, given her status as a rising star.

During the T20 World Cup in 2020, Verma had signed a one-year contract with PepsiCo as brand ambassador. With the player auctions for the Women's Premier League (WPL) slated for February 10, she, along with senior cricketers such as Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Harleen Deol and Deepti Sharma, are expected to attract strong bids. Brands could take a position after this, say experts, keeping in mind the interest of WPL franchises as well as cricket fans in general with regard to individual players.

"The Women's Premier League will definitely lift women's cricket, since brands will begin engaging far more with it. Women cricketers will gain as a result," says Karan Taurani, senior vice president-Research at Mumbai-based brokerage Elara Capital.

The appetite for women’s cricket can be gauged from the auction of franchises in the WPL last week.

The auction for five teams had seen the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) take home nearly Rs 4,670 crore in earnings – ahead of the Rs 4,000 crore that experts had estimated prior to the auction. The teams were auctioned for a 10-year period (2023-32).

More importantly, the combined media rights value (Rs 951 crore) and team auction bids (Rs 4,669.99 crore) gave BCCI nearly Rs 5,621 crore in earnings, which some experts said was second only to the Men’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

While senior players such as Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur charge an endorsement fee of Rs 25-30 lakh per brand per year, Verma's asking price is around Rs 5-10 lakh per brand per year, according to informed sources.

This figure could shoot up as more brands line up for Shafali Verma – cricket’s latest rising star.

The scorecard

• At 19, Shafali Verma has captained India’s World Cup winning Under-19 side in T20 cricket
• She became the youngest Indian cricketer to debut in all formats in 2021
• Endorses Bank of Baroda and Hyundai; is a potential target for sports drinks, sportswear, digital payments brands