Is Adidas' Rs 999 pricing fuelling Indian cricket’s jersey culture? 

India’s cricket fans – especially the ones inside the stadium – are increasingly wearing the official jersey of the national team than old versions or ill-fitting counterfeit ones sold outside the stadium.

A major influencer of this jersey culture is Adidas, the official kit sponsor of the Indian cricket team. It, after unveiling the official jerseys in June 2023, said it would sell different variants of them.

In a recent development, quick-commerce platforms like Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart are selling the team's jerseys making it easier for fans to order them if they felt like wearing one right before a match.

“We saw a 5x spike YoY over the last four weeks. The official adidas ODI fan jersey emerged as the No. 1 bestseller for Amazon Fashion. With India qualifying for finals, we observed an astounding 10x spike in the last 2-3 days,” a spokesperson for Amazon India told The Hindu Businessline, in a report from November 18, 2023.

The match jersey (Test, ODI, T20) will cost Rs 4,999. A replica ODI jersey is priced at Rs 2,999, and a fan jersey (ODI) will retail at Rs 999.

Quick-commerce firm Blinkit’s chief executive Albinder Dhindsa showed a spike in jersey sales during the ongoing India vs Australia finals compared to India’s semifinal against New Zealand on November 15, 2023.

Ganapathy Viswanathan, an ardent cricket fan has been following the world cup for over four decades. He said that the spirit of the game is what makes people wear the India Jersey, and adds that while the pricing could have been more competitive, a brand like Adidas would never like to dilute its equity and want to maintain the status of the brand. It has been a good World Cup and brands like Adidas got the maximum mileage.

“Through these multiple price points, we aim to revolutionise the jersey culture in India by making them affordable and accessible to every cricket fan in the country,” told Adidas India’s Sunil Gupta to afaqs! in June 2023. He is the brand’s senior director, brand Adidas, India.

Above photograph: Influencer The Rebel Kid during the India vs Pakistan match on October 14, 2023 at Ahmedabad.

It is the fan jersey that has caught everybody’s imagination because of its affordability. Compare it to its predecessor Nike whose Indian cricket team’s official jerseys retailed for over Rs 2,000.

Whenever the Indian cricket team plays in India, the stadiums are mostly a sea of blue. It is increasingly an official jersey-wearing water body.