CEAT signs 3-year deal with Suresh Raina for bat sponsorship

Mumbai, October 1, 2015: CEAT Ltd. has signed ace Indian cricketer Suresh Raina for bat association for next three years. Suresh Raina, the only Indian cricketer to score a century in all three formats of international cricket, will be seen representing CEAT bat in all the versions of cricket going forward. The CEAT logo will prominently feature on the bats used by the southpaw. The association has been facilitated by IOS Sports and Entertainment Pvt Ltd which manages Suresh Raina exclusively.

Suresh Raina who is currently part of the Indian Cricket team for T-20 and ODI series against South Africa will be using CEAT logo on his bat in the series commencing from 2nd October in Dharamshala.

Since his debut in 2005, Suresh Raina has established himself as one of the most exciting, reliable and high performing sporting professionals; with a safe pair of hands in the field. These traits resonate with the CEAT brand as well—the brand is known to be reliable, safe and a high performer.

The 28 year old Raina who has just completed a decade in international cricket, has scored 1 century and 7 half-centuries in the test cricket, 5 centuries and 35 half-centuries in ODI and 1 century and 3 half-centuries in T-20, is also the only Indian to score centuries in both T-20 World Cup and 50-50 Overs World Cup.

Commenting on the deal, Anant Goenka, MD, CEAT Ltd said, “We are very excited to get Suresh Raina on board to represent our CEAT bat during cricket matches. We have strategically zeroed in on Raina, considering he is one of the young and dynamic players of the Indian cricket team. He is a great fit for our brand because he personifies the dependability, passion and energy that CEAT stands for.”

On beginning his new association with CEAT, Suresh Raina said “It’s a great honour getting associated with a brand like CEAT. CEAT has been associated with cricket from a long time and I am looking forward to this alliance”

CEAT as a brand has always been associated with cricket—be it pioneering CEAT Cricket Ratings or the recently launched CEAT Cricket gear. Earlier this year, CEAT also tied up with IPL for the Strategic Time Out segment and has brought former Australian international cricketer Brett Lee on board as their brand ambassador for CEAT Cricket Ratings.

Press release

Suresh Raina completes a decade in International Cricket

New Delhi, July 30, 2015: India’s left-handed middle-order batsman Suresh Raina today completed a decade in international cricket. At the age of 20, he made his international debut on 30 July 2005 against Sri Lanka in Dambulla in one day international cricket.

Speaking on completing a decade in international cricket Suresh Raina said “It has been a really exciting journey for me completing a decade in international cricket. I would like to thank my family, BCCI, selectors, teammates, friends and fans for making this unbelievable journey incredible. I am happy the way I have paced my career so far and I will continue to give my best to bring all the laurels to the country”.

The 28 year old middle order batsman had a forgettable international debut a decade ago when he was lbw for a duck in his maiden ODI. Batting at number 6, Raina got lbw off the very first ball he played but since then he has never looked back and has played some excellent match winning knocks for India and is seen as one of the best finishers in 50-over and 20-over cricket. Till date he has played 218 one day international matches in which he scored 5500 runs including 5 centuries and 35 half-centuries with a strike rate of 93.80.

Raina is the only Indian batsman to score century in all three formats of cricket T-20, ODI and Test. He was the part of ICC World Cup 2011 winning Indian team and later he also represented the country in ICC World Cup held in Australia earlier this year. In the two World Cups played, he scored 358 runs including one century and two half-centuries with a strike rate of 107.50.

In 2011, Raina got an opportunity to lead the team in West Indies and under his captaincy team performed well winning ODI series 3-2. He was the second youngest captain of the Indian Cricket team and his captaincy was highly appreciated by former West Indies legends. In 2014, he was again declared captain and led the team to a 2-0 victory against Bangladesh.

Suresh Raina has also played 18 Test and 44 T20 matches.

Press release