Shubman Gill burst onto the cricket scene with an elegance that had cricket fans swooning. From his IPL days, where he made batting look like a walk in the park, to donning the Indian jersey and opening in Test matches, Gill seemed unstoppable.
Every inning was a masterclass, and every match saw him grow, earning the title of the “Prince of Indian Cricket” with his consistent brilliance.
India’s new Test captain, Gill, had a long-standing association with CEAT, which started during his India Under-19 days. However, earlier this year, he signed a bat sponsorship deal with MRF, which has been associated with some of the biggest names in Indian cricket over the years.
Spotlight on MRF bat
Ahead of India’s tour of England, Gill’s MRF bat sticker is in the news. This time, because of what was written along with MRF Genius. After the BCCI released photos of Gill and other members of the Indian team sporting the new kits, netizens zoomed in to find the word Prince written on Gill’s bat.
People on X slammed Gill for his move more so because Sachin Tendulkar never used ‘God’ on his bat sticker. Neither did Virat Kohli put King on his bat sticker. The same was the case with AB de Villiers and Brian Lara. In fact, Lara was the first to be known as a Prince in cricket.
“Sachin Tendulkar never played with a bat that had “God” written over it and Virat Kohli never played with a bat that had “King” written over it. You get tags with your performances and the tags are given by the greats of the game and not from the social media,” a user posted on X.
Another user wrote, “The Overhyped ‘Prince’ of Indian Cricket. Shubman Gill is so self-obsessed. Who even called you the Prince? A so-called ‘Prince of ICT with a poor SENA record, a below 35 Test average, and zero overseas centuries across all formats after 5 years in his international career.”
Shubman used the MRF-stickered bat for the first time in the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final clash between India and Australia.
Kohli’s overall bat contract is worth Rs 100 crore, approximately, as per reports. He earns around Rs 12.5 crore per year from MRF. Meanwhile, Gill’s bat sponsorship deal is estimated to be worth Rs 8-10 crore per year. While exact figures haven’t been disclosed, the Punjab batter is reportedly paid in a similar range as the iconic Sachin Tendulkar.
Apart from Shubman, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar, MRF has had associations with stalwarts like Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Brian Lara, Gautam Gambhir, Steve Waugh, and AB de Villiers.
The series will be held from June to August 2025, with matches scheduled at Headingley in Leeds, Edgbaston in Birmingham, Lord’s and The Oval in London, and Old Trafford in Manchester.