De Villiers signs three-year bat sponsorship deal with India tyre manufacturers worth around R28 million

18 January 2017 - 18:46 By Mahlatse Mphahlele
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South African batting superstar AB de Villiers has signed a three-year bat sponsorship deal with Indian tyre manufacturing giants MRF believed to be in the region of R28 million.

De Villiers‚ who is adored by millions of fans in that country‚ joins Indian batting powerhouses Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan as the company’s high profile ambassadors whose bats will display the MRF logo.

While the deal was signed some time ago‚ De Villiers has had to return to the negotiating table with the company after announcing that he is realigning his workload and would not play too many matches going forward.

The tyre manufacturures want him to play more games but he has already missed the ODI and Test series against Australia‚ and the ODI series against New Zealand last year.

He is also set to miss another series against New Zealand and Bangladesh in the coming months.

“I am still negotiating that one‚ obviously they would like me to play as much cricket as possible around the world in all formats‚" he said

"For now‚ I still have to negotiate with them and see how we get around that.

"I am happy to be with them‚ it’s a great company and looking forward to walk onto the field with the bat."

The company has in the past endorsed legendary players such as Sachin Tendulkar‚ Brian Lara‚ Steve Waugh and Gautam Gambhir.

De Villiers‚ who trained with the Proteas in Centurion yesterday‚ returns to action after a long injury lay-off for Northerns against Easterns in a 50 over semi-professional match at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Sunday.

“I am nervous before cricket games.

"After a break like this‚ you like to prove that you can still play the game and can still hit the ball well.

"I know there will be a lot of eyes on me and I would like to prove that I can still play.

"There is added pressure but I have always played under pressure and I am motivated to well in the match." - TMG Digital

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