Ashwin to endorse over 15 brands: ITW

Chennai, Jan 6 (IANS) Sports consulting and talent management solutions company ITW Consulting Private Ltd will make Indian cricket all-rounder R. Ashwin an ambassador for over 15 brands by the end of this year, a top company official said.

The company has signed with Ashwin to manage his commercial brand endorsements.

"There is good potential for brand Ashwin. We intend to bring in excess of 15 brands," ITW Consulting co-founder Bharirav Shanth told reporters here on Friday.

According to him, by the end of this year, Ashwin will be endorsing most number of brands.

Shanth said Ashwin's brand equity level has certainly gone up following him being named as the International Cricket Council's Player of the Year.

Queried about Ashwin's attributes and why should a brand owner hire him as an ambassador, Shanth said: "Ashwin has a clean image, a tough player on the field, a commitment to perform and dependable."

Those brands that convey these attributes would certainly pitch for Ashwin, he said.

"We will decide which brand to endorse," Ashwin added.

According to Shanth, after the legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, the Tamil Nadu player is the genuine world class all-rounder that the nation has.

"In terms of brand equity had Kapil Dev been playing now, he would be earning more than the topmost cricketers now. The market now is completely different from what it was when Kapil Dev was actively playing cricket," Shanth told IANS on the side lines.

Speaking about his playing style and the changes, Ashwin said his mother once told him that a person will not improve unless he changes is attitude.

"Change and improvement are directly proportional," Ashwin said.

Ashwin refuted views that a vacuum has been formed with M.S. Dhoni stepping down as the skipper of India's One-Day International and T20 Internatinal teams.