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It has launched Three Stripes cricket goods by getting the Adidas logo on the highest run-making bat in world cricket. And wealthy is the hand that wields the bat. Sporting a logo on it fetches crores.

When Sachin Tendulkar walked out to bat against New Zealand in the Compaq Cup Tri-series in Sri Lanka last month, there was something very conspicuously different: his bat.

After years of wearing the MRF logo, the maestro’s bat now has Adidas emblazoned on it. ET has learnt that Sachin’s multi-year bat endorsement deal (including that of apparel and footwear) has been inked for close to Rs 3.5-Rs 4 crore (US $1 million) per year.

The Incurza Range bat designed specially with inputs from the master blaster has a blade whose extended and raised middle and contoured edges put depth where it’s needed: superb driving power. Just what the accomplished Sachin, who plays with the straightest bat, asked for.

“Sachin Tendulkar has been a part of the Adidas family for over 11 years and our association has now extended into a lifetime relationship,“ says Adidas India MD Andreas Gellner.

“Sachin is a living legend and we could not have chosen a more accomplished athlete to endorse the Cricket hardware range,” he added. According to Harish Krishnamachari, vice-president, World Sports Group which manages Sachin’s endorsements, the new deal is a natural extension for Sachin who has had a long standing relationship with the sports major.

”It was about taking the association with the sports brand to the next level.” The economic slowdown forced Sachin’s earlier bat sponsor, tyre maker MRF, to look for cheaper options when their contract with him expired and Adidas pounced on the opportunity. “We had an extremely fruitful association with Sachin since we signed him during thirteen of his prime playing years,” a senior MRF official told ET on condition of anonymity.

“The situation is not so good that we keep on spending on cricket and so post his contract, Sachin was free to approach other corporates,” he added . The company has now signed Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma as its brand ambassadors.

According to Bunty Sajdeh, CEO of Cornerstone Sport and Entertainment that manages a total of 15 Indian cricketers including Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma, sponsors always look for fresh talent that they can bank on for long term returns.

It is in this light that MRF approached Rohit Sharma for a three-year deal of Rs 3 crore, a figure that Sajdeh refused to confirm. “About fifteen years ago, they could have bagged Sachin also for a much lesser price than today,” he added.

The race to sign on players’ bats began in 2005, when Nike bought the rights to become the official kit suppliers for the Indian cricket team and outbid rivals Reebok and Adidas by coughing up Rs 200 crore. That was when rival Reebok, part of the Adidas group, began signing the bat sponsorships of leading India players like Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni.

Bat sponsorship rates can widely wary from player to player and brand to brand. According to industry sources, while a batsman like Virat Kohli could command anywhere between Rs 25-50 lacs per year for bat sponsorships, middle rung players like Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina ask up to Rs 75 lakh a year.

We were expecting Aishwarya and Abhishek to make an appearance at Hrithik’s big bash for his mom on Oct 25, but they were not to be seen.

Considering Hrithik is a co-star she’s currently working with in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film “Guzaarish”, she could have made a short visit as she stays just two lanes away from Hrithik’s house.

As far as “Guzaarish” is concerned, we hear Ash and Hrithik will be singing a song for the film that will be recorded by Bhansali himself.

This is the first time Hrithik will sing for a movie. Aishwarya had sung “Apun Bola Tu Meri Laila” along with Shah Rukh for “Josh”.

In “Guzaarish”, Hrithik plays a paraplegic. Aishwarya plays his nurse who is married, but falls in love with Hrithik’s character.

Apparently, the duo is learning Portuguese for the film too.

American actress Jennifer Aniston covers the fashion magazine Elle South Africa for the month of October 2009. She opens the true story of My Best Friend and now she is headed back to the small screen to front a late-night show with Oprah Winfrey.

Welcome the new crop of actresses with vital stats 31-23-31 and forget the outdated and out-of-shape 36-24-36. Kareena Kapoor, the trailblazer of size-zero fad in India, admits that occasionally she does feel like putting on some extra kilos but resists the temptation because being a fashion icon she has to remain lean and sexy.

Not just Kareena, other Bolly babes like Sonam Kapoor or Deepika Padukone possess killer, slender figures.

The fabulous Lara Dutta who was already in good shape also had to work hard to acquire a bod that looks sensuous in bikini. With this recent trend, fashion designers are happy too.

Designer Shahid Aamir was quoted as saying, “Today’s girls are a dream to dress. They’ve got bodies of international fashion standards and lend themselves naturally to the latest designs. What is more, none of them put on weight through the making of a film? So a designer doesn’t have to rush back and forth with alterations.”

This sounds great as Indian fashion scenario is fast catching up with international standards. Kareena says, “My size zero is what got the attention of an international clothes manufacturer. I will be launching a clothes line soon.” The lady knows that high-fashion clothes require her thin frame.

Now what? Think about other actresses, and you will find a whole lot of them in the same category whether it’s the athletic Bipasha Basu, lithe Priyanka Chopra or pencil-thin Kangana Ranaut. All are obsessed with being slim and thin.

So, while the size-zero obsession may have abated, the truly curvy babes in B-Town are few and far between.