Star Sports ropes in Dhoni to promote EPL in Hindi

Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni would be seen promoting soccer on STAR Sports network. The spotscaster Star Sports has roped in the Indian Cricket Captain as the brand ambassador of the Barclays English Premier League in India.

The campaign, build around the theme ‘Join the Game’, comes on the back of the sportscaster announcing the launch of Hindi presentation for the first time on EPL.

"A keen soccer enthusiast and a Manchester United fan, MS Dhoni will invite all sports fans to 'Join the Game' in a clutter breaking integrated marketing campaign which will be launched early next week. The campaign will have a strong on-air and digital media thrust," the sportscaster said in a release.

Star targets to expand EPL fan

 base by leveraging iconic power  

and fan following of Dhoni  

Earlier ESPN Star had aired an EPL season with Hindi feed.  But this time ESS is offering EPL with Hindi commentary along with non-live programming and weekly magazine shows.

The Hindi presentation will be in addition to the English commentary and will be available for over 100 live matches across the season.

The campaign has renditions of how Dhoni is always missing from action and is glued to the TV sets watching EPL every weekend while his family and friends run around looking for him. 

"I am an avid EPL fan and I just played out a real situation in front of the camera. If I am not busy with cricket, I am always busy with EPL during week-ends. Soccer is extremely exciting and very close to my heart. I was a goal keeper during my school days. Even today, I play soccer as a warm up game ahead of key cricket matches," said Dhoni in a realease. 

"I feel that Indian sports fans should consume different types of sports. I want them to be passionate about cricket as they are, but at the same time one needs to give healthy respect for other disciplines as well.

This STAR Sports initiative to provide soccer commentary now in Hindi will go a long way in making soccer exciting to watch and comprehend for new audiences across the nation. Similar efforts should be done to promote other sports as well," Dhoni added. 

Vijay Rajput, Chief Operating Officer, ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd said, "We are delighted to have MS Dhoni come on board as the brand ambassador for EPL in the country. We are targeting to expand the fan base of EPL in India by leveraging the iconic power and fan following of MS Dhoni to attract cricket fans to sample EPL."