The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise, of men's Twenty20 cricket's Indian Premier League, have a new main partner for the 2026 season – electric vehicle brand Vida.
Through the deal, Vida (owned by Indian heavyweight Hero MotoCorp) becomes the main KKR partner and the team's front-of-shirt sponsor.
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Vida replaces Dream11, with the fantasy gaming brand forced to shutter its significant Indian operations in mid-2025 because of a complete ban on real money igaming being put in place in that market. Dream11's primary sponsorship deal with KKR last season was valued at $4.5 million by GlobalData Sport.
Dream11's principal partnership with the IPL's Gujarat Titans has also come to an end in recent weeks.
The tie-up gives Vida major visibility across all KKR platforms and assets (including the players themselves), as well as across broadcast and digital coverage of the IPL. There will also be multiple activations throughout the 2026 season, including via social media and in-stadia.
Vida will be prominent across the overall KKR digital content strategy, with digital and social media matters – over the last few years – playing a bigger role in IPL teams' operations.
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By GlobalDataKKR have won the IPL three times so far, most recently in 2024, and are one of the league's original franchises. As such, they have a significant fanbase and overall global presence.
However, the 2025 season saw them finish eighth in the 10-team league, thus failing to make the postseason playoffs.
