Sachin as Krishna, Mukesh’s IPL team has Sudarshan Chakra

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After the recent success of Team India in Australia and juniors in South Africa, it’s again time to focus on cricket and the game as a brand. Over two weeks after RIL boss Mukesh Ambani showed the world that he is a keen follower of the Gentleman’s Game and bagged the franchise of Mumbai team in Indian Premier League (IPL), it was time to give the team a name. Senior Ambani’s IPL team has been christened Mumbai Indians and it is set to don the colour blue.

As the team was unveiled on Saturday, R Balachandran, president and chief marketing officer, Reliance Retail, who is also in-charge of the franchise of the team, said the team’s logo is inspired from the Sudarshan Chakra (weapon/armament of Lord Krishna). And the colour light blue stands for ‘Blue Chip’ company—that signifies that the Mumbai teams boasts of best talent across the world. The team identity has been derived from Mumbai—maximum city—Sachin Tendulkar and India’s Twenty20 win.

Tendulkar, along with Balachandran, told media about the expectations from the team and the tournament. He said the players bought at the auction were strictly on his advice. He said, “The IPL presents an exciting and ideal phase for the game to get more exciting. The Twenty20 format itself is fun and this tournament will provide the perfect evening to be spent with family and friends enjoying cricket.”

Although prior to IPL, which begins on April 18, India will be hosting South Africa for three Tests, Tendulkar said his current aim is to help the Mumbai franchise in building up the brand. Both Tendulkar and Balachandran emphasised that in order to keep the interest intact around Mumbai Indians, it is extremely important to win the inaugural tournament and that would ensure a spectator base for all ages.

Said Balachandran, “The greater the product, the lesser the need to market it. Once you know the product is good, you just need to showcase it.”

The team owners tagged Tendulkar the Krishna, who is at the helm of the team and would be guiding his team to success.