MUMBAI: The cricketing season is on and in the midst of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 fever, Tata Motors Prima has announced that it will be the title sponsor for Kings XI Punjab in the soon to begin Indian Premier League (IPL) season eight.

The announcement is an extension of the brands partnership with the team from the last season, where it was the associate sponsor. HTC is the associate sponsor for the franchise, for this season.

Speaking to indiantelevision.com on the reason for the extension, Tata Motors executive director commercial vehicles Ravi Pisharody said, "Firstly there is a natural connect with cricket as our target audience is male. Secondly, the transport community in Punjab is a big chunk of our customers."

Reasoning further he said, “If you see, the colour of the truck and the teams jersey is the same i.e bright red.”

Kings XI Punjab co-promoter and director Mohit Burman said that the coming together of the two testified the brands faith in the franchise. Burman stated that the team’s performance both on and off the field would prove to be beneficial for the brand. Kings XI Punjab had made it to the finals in the last season of IPL, where it lost to Kolkata Knight Riders.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab co-owner Preity Zinta feels that the brand acted as a lucky charm for the team which saw them moving towards the finals in the last season.

At an event held in Mumbai, the Kings XI Punjab jersey was also unveiled.

The team will play its first match on 8 April 2015 against Rajasthan Royals at MCA International stadium, Pune.