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[aryan]

PUNE/BANGALORE: It must be the greatest start Sachin Tendulkar ever had: earning Rs 1.5 crore a day! In the first 27 days of 2011, the Little Master has won Rs 40 crore and two villas in new endorsement deals. If only he could match the strike rate on the pitch during this World Cup!

Indian cricket's little big man has signed deals with Pune-based real estate company Amit Enterprises for Rs 9 crore and apparel maker S Kumars Nationwide (SKNL) for Rs 12-13 crore, within days of Coca-Cola announcing a Rs 20-crore, three-year contract with the top batsman.

Tendulkar's deal with the Rs 250-crore developer includes two villas, priced at Rs 2.5 crore each, in Amit Enterprises' upscale housing project.

"We have taken Sachin as our brand ambassador because we are not known outside Pune, and his association with us should help when we start projects in Mumbai and Nashik," Amit Enterprises chairman and managing director Kishor Pate (Wani) said. The company plans to enter Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, he added.

SKNL , which already has high-velocity brand ambassadors such as Shah Rukh Khan for Belmonte and Amitabh Bachchan for luxury suitings brand Reid and Taylor, believes Tendulkar can help its economy brand, World Player, break into the value segment for men and become a pan-Indian brand.

"The timing of the World Cup is purely coincidental to the endorsement," SKNL's apparel and retail director Ashesh Amin said.

Tendulkar's association with the brand will extend to incorporating his personal tastes with respect to colours as well as the look & feel of the brand. "Tendulkar is a go-getter. His dedication and attitude fits into World Player's brand values," Amin said.

Last week, Coca Cola signed Tendulkar as its 'happiness ambassador', laying the pitch for a Tendulkar-M S Dhoni face-off in the cola battlefield this season. "Sachin Tendulkar will play his part in the company's various strategic communication initiatives including its corporate, CSR and brand campaigns," Coca-Cola said in a statement.

PepsiCo has already released a high-visibility campaign featuring the Indian cricket captain Dhoni. Sachin had endorsed PepsiCo for close to a decade before being dropped two years ago as they felt he did not fit their 'youngistaan' campaign theme.

Tendulkar endorses 17 brands, including Adidas , luxury Swiss watch maker Audemars Piguet, Canon, ITC, Aviva Life Insurance , RBS and appliances major Toshiba. He charges about $1 million per year per deal. His endorsements are managed by sports management firm World Sport Group.

Other cricketers like Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli are also learnt to be on a signing spree, and are on the verge of signing two-three deals each. Details of the same were not available.