NEW DELHI: Telecom giant Bharti Airtel was on Friday named as the sponsor for all international cricket played in India after offering to pay 700,000 dollars per match, India`s cricket board said.

The three-year deal covers all Test, one-day and Twenty20 matches, and with India scheduled to play at least 50 matches in the period, the board stands to earn 35 million dollars.

"Bharti Airtel has won the series sponsorship rights for the period of 2010-2013 with a bid amount of 33.3 million rupees per Test/ODI/T20 International," board secretary N. Srinivasan said in a one-line statement.

Airtel beat telecom rivals Idea Cellular and mobile phone makers Karbonn Mobile and MicroMax in an open bid that was finalised by the board`s marketing committee in Mumbai on Friday.

The minimum bid price set by the board was 20 million rupees (428,815 dollars) per match.

This is the first time sponsors have been named for home series for a fixed term. The earlier deal was held by World Sports Group, a sports agency who then sold the rights to companies on a series-by-series basis.

Airtel also sponsors the Twenty20 Champions League, an international club competition, whose second edition will be played in South Africa next month.

BDST: 1648HRS, August 20, 2010