India’s Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who had been posing as the brand ambassador of the Pepsi Company since the 90s, has been dropped upon the completion of his contractual-term in May. The Pepsi Company has reportedly instead decided to pick up the younger, talented crop from the Indian cricket team. The decision to drop Tendulkar follows the axing of the other two members of the Indian batting troika - Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly - by Pepsi earlier this year.

Sources from the industry confirm that the reason why Pepsi has dropped Sachin Tendulkar is because it is now wants to pay attention to the younger cricketers. ‘The decision was also influenced in a big way by the premium amount demanded by the batting maestro,’ the sources added. Sachin Tendulkar usually charges Rs 3 Crore to Rs 4 Crore for every brand he endorses. This amount, as per the industry estimates, is the highest when compared to what is charged by other sport-stars from his generation.

The Pepsi, however, has so far refrained from making any comments on if or not they have renewed their brand endorsement contract with Sachin Tendulkar. The World Sport Group, Tendulkar's manager, too has not said anything on this issue. Earlier, Pepsi had made it known that they were planning to rope in younger cricket players as a part of their new 2008 campaign, Yeh hai Youngistaan Meri Jaan. As such, among the new Indian cricketers who would be seen promoting Pepsi includes Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma.