26th December 2020, Colombo: JAT Holdings (Pvt) Ltd was awarded the “Official Overseas Team Sponsor of Sri Lanka Cricket” during the 2020/2021 cricket season. The completely local and home-grown brand, an undisputed market leader in the wood coatings industry, signed the agreement with ITW Consulting (ITW) who was awarded custodianship of the said title by Sri Lanka Cricket pursuant to a tender process. ITW also has numerous sponsorships, advertising and brand promotion rights granted to it by Sri Lanka Cricket.
As a part of this landmark agreement, the company will be sponsoring the Sri Lanka Cricket Team for their Away series scheduled for the 2020/2021 cricket season.
Partaking in the season, the Sri Lanka tour of South Africa includes 2 Test matches which are tentatively scheduled to take place on the 26th of December 2020 and 7th of January 2021. Similarly, 2 Test matches under the Sri Lanka vs. England Home series will be held on the 14th and 26th of January 2021, followed by 3 ODI, 3 T20 and 2 Test matches during the Sri Lanka tour of West Indies, prearranged to take place during March 2021. For the above season, JAT will be known as ‘Official Overseas Team Sponsor of Sri Lanka Cricket’ for the Sri Lanka tour of South Africa and West Indies and for England tour of Sri Lanka.
During these trying times, as most firms in Sri Lanka have readjusted their sights and shied away from monumental business decisions JAT Holdings has soldiered gamely on. Together with the recent launch of the “WHITE by JAT” range of brilliant white interior and exterior emulsion paints, this sponsorship is yet another reflection of the organisation’s stability, despite the current world market situation.
Addressing his thoughts on the partnership, Mr Ashley De Silva, CEO of SRI LANKA CRICKET commented, I’m happy a local and privately owned brand JAT Holdings is partnering as ”Official Overseas Team Sponsor of Sri Lanka Cricket” to strengthen the arm of Sri Lanka Cricket during Sri Lanka’s tours of South Africa and West Indies Tours and England’s Tour of Sri Lanka . Cricket is all about partnerships and I’m sure this association will grow, develop and that JAT will take this opportunity to harness their brand to become a global giant.”
Voicing his thoughts in relation to this sponsorship, Aelian Gunawardene, Managing Director of JAT Holdings (Pvt) Ltd commented, “We are extremely honoured, as a privately owned Sri Lankan company, to sponsor the Sri Lankan National Cricket Team, this has given all of us at JAT a feeling of great pride and we wish the team every success in their upcoming series. JAT Holdings constantly seeks for channels to give back to our community, and sports has always been an area of focus. This was even more evident when JAT became the only Sri Lankan company to sponsor the Kandy Tuskers cricket team at the LPL 2020.”
He further stated, “True sportsmanship is a unifying language. It is undeniable that sporting events create complete individuals and bring together nations, ethnicities and religions despite their differences.”
Speaking about this association, Bhairav Shanth, MD, ITW consulting said, “ITW has always believed in the potential of sports in general and cricket in particular globally. This has been an exciting association for us not least because we have a long-standing relationship with the sport of cricket here and are upbeat about the possibilities Sri Lankan cricket holds. This deal is unique as the two most trusted names in the country have come together to celebrate the most popular sport in Sri Lanka. Through this association, we are committed to enabling Sri Lanka Cricket enter an exciting new era.”
JAT Holdings has always sponsored major sporting events on home soil and abroad, from standing tall as the main sponsor of the Sri Lanka vs. Australia Test series while co-sponsoring the ODI’s and several other Sri Lankan Cricket Tournaments. As a socially responsible organisation which seeks to bring communities together through sports, the sponsorship of Sri Lanka Cricket during the 2020/2021 cricket season will only pave the way for more ventures similar to this.