IPL hits another JACKPOT as Google Gemini inks three-year deal for…

Indian cricket is used to seeing big names on the boundary ropes, tyre giants, beverage kings, and until recently, a flood of fantasy gaming apps. But as we head into the 2026 season, there’s a new player in town, and it’s not a physical product. It’s Artificial Intelligence.

According to media reports, Google’s Gemini has inked a massive three-year sponsorship deal with the IPL, valued at roughly Rs 270 crore.

From Code to Cricket

This isn’t just about sticking a logo on a scoreboard. This deal marks a symbolic shift in who owns the ‘commercial eyeballs’ of India. Just last year, ChatGPT made a similar move by sponsoring the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in a two-year deal worth Rs 16 crore.

Now, Gemini is stepping onto the biggest stage of them all. We’re seeing a high-stakes ‘AI Arms Race’ playing out not in Silicon Valley, but in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Even the design platform Canva tried to get in on the action, bidding a staggering Rs 554 crore for the BCCI shirt sponsorship, only to be narrowly outbid by Apollo Tyres (who secured it for Rs 579 crore).

Filling the ‘Gaming’ Void

Why the sudden rush? It all comes down to a massive hole in the market. Last year, the government’s ban on Real Money Gaming (RMG) and fantasy sports wiped out nearly Rs 7,000 crore of advertising spend overnight. For years, apps like Dream11 were the lifeblood of cricket ad breaks. With them gone, broadcasters and leagues were staring at a financial cliff.

Enter the AI platforms. Industry experts suggest that AI brands are set to spend upwards of Rs 300 crore on cricket this year alone. They’re effectively the “new fantasy sports” when it comes to driving ad interest.

Why Cricket?

For a global giant like Google, the logic is simple – reach. In India, cricket isn’t just a sport; it’s the most effective way to drive ‘user adoption.’ If you want 1.4 billion people to start using your AI assistant for their daily tasks, you put it where they’re already looking, the IPL.

While we’re still waiting for official confirmation from the BCCI and Google, the message is clear: the next era of cricket sponsorship will be ‘intelligent.’