Cricketer Shikhar Dhawan to bat for Canara Bank… as a brand ambassador

Shikhar Dhawan

INDIA'S opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, who had a dream Test debut against Australia last year in Mohali with a flawless knock of 187, is set to play a new innings for public sector lender Canara Bank, which reported a 42.39-percent decline in net profit for the third quarter ended December, mainly due to higher provisioning for bad loans. The PSU lender seems to have banked upon the cricketer’s superb form...
to tide over the lender’s bad pitch thanks to its mounting incidence of bad loans. Dhawan, who is a regular opener for team India, has so far played seven Tests and scored two double centuries. The stylish southpaw has played 39 One Day matches and scored over a thousand runs which include five hundreds. Another cricketer whom the bank has already fielded is former Indian bowler Venkatesh Prasad. “The bank and Shikhar have a lot in common. He has an admirable record, is constantly innovating his game and setting new standards. He represents the dreams of today’s youth and their aspiration, confidence and energy. Shikhar, as a youth icon, cements the partnership between the bank and the youth,” said RK Dubey, CMD of Canara Bank.
This is not for the first time that cricketers have been roped in by PSU banks to promoting business, whenever they face bad pitch. Former cricketer Rahul Dravid, Bank of Baroda’s brand ambassador since 2005, has made a “significant difference” for the bank.
Rahul’s assertion in the TV commercial that Sab Kuch Badal Raha Hai … Hamara Bank Bhi (Everything is changing … so is our bank) underscored Bank of Baroda’s determination to reinvent itself as a gen-next product. The campaign was so successful that within 45 days of its launch the bank had garnered another 1.26 million customers and mobilised Rs 650 crore in new savings account deposits, the bank said in a statement.
Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar was the brand ambassador for Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008.
Bank of Rajasthan had actress and parliamentarian Hema Malini as its brand ambassador.
Dena Bank had actress Juhi Chawla as its ambassador. Bollywood star Perizaad Zorabian Irani had been associated with Central Bank of India.
Standard Chartered Bank appointed former Test cricketer Kapil Dev as its brand ambassador in 2003 that too after his retirement from Test cricket. However, not all banks are so lucky with sportspersons. Corporation Bank had a bad experience with sportsman as its brand ambassador. The PSU bank roped in brought in Ashwini Akkunji, who bagged two gold medals at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, as its ambassador in 2011.
However, he failed a dope test and the lender had no choice but to drop him from all endorsements.