MUMBAI: Madison World‘s sports marketing company, Professional Management Group (PMG), has signed a five-year deal with Virender Sehwag to kick-start its Sports Celebrity Management vertical. With the entry into sports celebrity management, PMG aims for a tremendous growth and activity in the next few years.

This deal puts Virender Sehwag amongst the league of the richest cricketers in world cricket today.The sports marketing company will look after Sehwag‘s brand endorsements and other commercial commitments worldwide with a special focus on image building and reputation management.

Said Madison World chairman and PMG director Sam Balsara, "We are delighted to have a phenomenon like Sehwag on board. These are the very same qualities which today‘s brands want to project to find respect and admiration among their target audience and therefore I am confident that there will be many brands who will want to associate with him and benefit from this association."

With the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup coming up, collaboration between these two giants in the field of sports will mark a new high in the strongly emerging sports marketing discipline in India and give brands new opportunities to maximize their impact on consumers and help connect with them.

Commented Sehwag, "I am very excited to have signed the deal with PMG. I am elated that, I would be working with my childhood hero Mr. Sunil Gavaskar. And I am sure we are going to have a great partnership working together."

PMG is chaired by Sunil Gavaskar and co-owned by Adman Sam Balsara and Outdoor specialist Noomi Mehta.