Even as the euphoria is in full swing two days after the Women in Blue scripted history in Navi Mumbai, there is some heartening news from the endorsement sector. The brand value of most members of the World Cup winning national squad is expected to see an uptick of at least 20-25 per cent, while talent managers are on the hunt to rope in those not on the bandwagon.

Smriti Mandhana, the prolific vice-captain who has the highest engagement among Indian women’s athletes on social media at 14.8 million — second only to Virat Kohli — already has 16-17 brands under her belt and still seeing a rise in queries. Interest in Jemimah Rodrigues has also picked up along with other young performers, and inspirational skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.

Striking an upbeat note, Tuhin Mishra, managing director and co-founder of Baseline Ventures, which manages Smriti, told National Herald: ‘’While Smriti was in a different league with 16-17 brands, the tag of world champion is certainly going to add to her brand value along with others. We also expect a rise in interest for other players on our roster — Richa Ghosh, Pratika Rawal and Radha Jadhav.

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‘’The inquiries are coming in and my only concern is that they should be long-term associations. Exposure for our women cricketers has already grown and the inclusion of cricket in the Los Angeles Olympics also gives us a three-year window to work with. Smriti, I can vouch, has the Olympics gold in her sight as a long-term goal.’’

Karan Yadav, sports chief commercial officer of JSW, told The Economic Times that their client Jemimah has seen a brand value appreciation of approximately 100 per cent, with interest from 10-12 categories. Her signing fee now ranges from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore, depending on contract terms and deliverables.

Jemimah’s candid disclosure about her anxiety throughout the tournament after her sensational century against Australia resonated widely and amplified commercial interest. Her current brand portfolio includes Red Bull, Boat, Nine, SG and Surf Excel.

Tuhin Mishra, Baseline VenturesThe inquiries are coming in and my only concern is that they should be long-term associations. Exposure for our women cricketers has already grown and the inclusion of cricket in the Los Angeles Olympics also gives us a three-year window to work with. Smriti, I can vouch, has the Olympics gold in her sight as a long-term goal

Not to be outdone, senior pro Harmanpreet was signed up as a brand ambassador by real estate developers Omaxe on Tuesday, 4 November. A statement says the company, with a sizeable presence in north India, will collaborate on initiatives including athlete development programmes, grassroots outreach, community events and awareness campaigns to promote sports as a viable career and source of empowerment.

Elaborating on Smriti’s marketability as an athlete, the Baseline Ventures official said it’s thanks to the cricketer’s acceptability that she has been able to break gender stereotypes when brands take her on board.

‘’She has broken the glass ceiling as there are at least five brands with profiles to suit male brand ambassadors who have opted for Smriti. The likes of Gulf Oil — whose male counterpart ambassador is M.S. Dhoni — PNB Metlife, SBI, Herbal Life and Hyundai Motors are examples. Hyndai, incidentally, had Shah Rukh Khan as their only face for years,’’ Mishra added.

The next major assignment for the women’s national team is the T20 World Cup in England next year, while the fourth edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) early next year is also expected to benefit from the historic triumph of Harmanpreet & Co.