Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) will replace edtech company Unacademy to become one of the official partners of the upcoming IPL 2023, sources have told the Economic Times. If this partnership materialises, STA will become the second entity from Saudi Arabia to be officially associated with the Indian Premier League.
Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, is presently the sponsor of IPL's Orange Cap and Purple Cap titles. The Orange Cap is awarded to the leading run scorer of each IPL season while the Purple Cap is awarded to the top wicket taker of the tournament.
Earlier this year, edtech start-up Unacademy announced a series of cost-cutting measures which included the discontination of their association with the lucrative sports league. Unacademy became the central sponsor of IPL back in 2020.
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STA, an organ of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Tourism, had previously expressed their interest in the Indian market. To lure in Indian tourists to the oil-rich gulf nation, STA wishes to tap into two popular segments in India—Bollywood and cricket.
At OTM 2022, a travel trade show held in Mumbai earlier this year, Alhasan Ali Aldabbagh, STA's Chief Markets Officer for Asia Pacific had said, "As part of our global marketing strategy, India is one of the key markets that we are activating...we intend to work closely with Bollywood. We are also planning to host some friendly cricket matches in Saudi Arabia because we know these are important to our Indian visitors."
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