Royals' sponsor withdraws ads featuring Sreesanth

The effects of the arrest of three Rajasthan Royals players on allegations of spot-fixing have had their first off-field fallout, with one team sponsor reported to have withdrawn advertisements featuring Sreesanth.

Kent R-O Systems, a Delhi-based company that sells water purifiers, has withdrawn its campaigns featuring Sreesanth but has not yet taken a call on their association with the team. "We have taken down the ads with immediate effect since they feature Sreesanth in them. For now, we are just taking off air the ads with players whose names have come up," Mahesh Gupta, chairman and managing director, Kent R-O Systems, told The Hindu. "It is just three people who have been named. We have a very respected captain [Rahul Dravid], who also expressed his shock. At the moment nothing has been said about the management or the team as whole being involved, I don't think team should suffer because of certain individuals."

Supertech Cement, another corporate sponsor, has decided not to review their sponsorship. In a statement, RK Arora, chairman of Supertech said, "It is only three players in individual capacity who have been caught in wrongdoing. The team still stands untouched and it is playing very well and in a professional manner. We have no intention at present to review our sponsorship and have full faith in the franchise. We will continue our support for Rajasthan Royals."

Corporate sponsors of the team, which include companies like Supertech Cement, Nissan and Tata Consultancy Services, are reportedly opting to wait until investigations into allegations are over, before taking a call on sponsorship.

Sreesanth was also removed from the advertisement for Kerala Lottery, a state-run lottery, instructed to do so by the state minister for finance, KM Mani.