Advertisers line up for brand Dhoni

Mumbai: The number one batsman in the ICC ODI rankings, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been demolishing bowling attacks but there is one more place we see a lot of him — in his endorsements.

Dhoni's on-field exploits have made him one of the most sought after men for advertisers.

His tie-ups with top brands have become as common as his match winning performances. In just one cricketing year Dhoni is second only to skipper Rahul Dravid and maestro Sachin Tendulkar with 14 brands under his belt including, Pepsi, Reebok, Videocon, BPCL, Reliance and many more.

Pepsi and Reebok are the only two brands to have had the foresight to catch Dhoni before his rise to fame.

Dhoni's brand value seems to have doubled after his performances against the Lankans at home but it was the match winning performance against the Pakistanis on their home turf that made everyone believe that he is here to stay.

“Not many Indians have consistently performed like Dhoni in the past few years. Most clients believe in consistency and Dhoni has that,” Dhoni's business manager, Yudajeet Dutta said.

“Dhoni has been signed as a brand ambassador by Reliance Infocomm and we will be using him as a crowd puller,” Reliance Infocomm’s Sanjeev Kumar said.

Leonine locks, charm and a warm personality make Dhoni an advertiser's dream but despite the offers coming from all quarters he has been careful to choose.

“We don’t want him to be associated with things which are not marketed well,” Dutta said.

Most of these contracts are for two years and it is speculated that he gets something close to Rs 2.4 crore per brand.

With Dhoni's cricketing career on an upswing it seems like brand Dhoni has arrived and is here to stay.

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