Hyderabad: IDEA Cellular today announced that it has signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Deccan Chargers of Hyderabad, the current IPL T20 Champions.

''IDEA Cellular will be the principal partner of Deccan Chargers, starting with the third edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) scheduled to start from March 2010,'' a press release here said.

IDEA Cellular Chief Marketing Officer Pradeep Shrivastava said ''the cricket fever is rising and IPL 3 will only add more excitement to it, further electrifying the cricket frenzy nation. Going with our essential brand promise of bringing champion ideas through the power of mobility, we have partnered with the champions of IPL, to offer cricket entertainment by the Deccan Chargers to our 60 million subscribers across the country."

He said " With IPL being back in the country, we are confident that this tie up will offer a huge platform to create visibility for Brand Idea through on-ground cricket action, and magnify the impact by reaching out to a larger audience through various media platforms.''

Speaking on the occasion, Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures Ltd Chief Operating Officer Dinesh Wadhwa said ''IPL is the most followed sporting event in the country. The success of Deccan Chargers in the last tournament has further increased the fan following of the team. Our partnership with IDEA Cellular will take the team to a higher plane of reach and visibility by connecting with millions of mobile consumers in the country. We hope to have a long-term, mutually beneficial association with IDEA.''

IDEA will launch a range of value added services on Voice, SMS and WAP portal for 60 million subscribers, across the country to bring them closer to Deccan Chargers.

IDEA subscribers will get a chance to win tickets for the matches, autographed merchandize, participate in Meet and Greet with the players, download special player messages and many more exciting interactions with team Deccan Chargers.