Somehow you can’t quite imagine this kind of thing happening here in Britain.

Sport icons like Anil Kumble, Brett Lee and Viswanathan Anand are all now playing on a different pitch. After being popular faces for brands ranging from consumer durables to biscuits, these sporting icons are now lending the awe their persona generates to educational institutes.

For instance, Indian test cricket captain Anil Kumble, who has so far advertised for brands like Samsung and Indian Oil, will now be the face of Manipal Education. Last month, Manipal Education announced Anil Kumble as their global brand ambassador.

Similarly, Deakin University too, recently announced Australian fast bowler Brett Lee, as the brand ambassador for Deakin’s activities in India.

Viswanathan Anand has been advertising for NIIT for the past nine years and would continue to do so. He has also advertised for Parle Milk Shakti biscuits in the past.

Being a cricket fan, I know exactly who Anil Kumble and Brett Lee are, and I long ago clocked that Lee is a big name in India.  But Anand?  He’s the world chess champion, which gives out obvious academic vibes. 

Anand Sudarshan, managing director and CEO, Manipal Education says: “Anil Kumble personifies our brand values. Apart from being a world class cricketer, he has excelled academically. This association will assist Manipal Education in achieving our mission of providing students with well-rounded education.”

Good to know that Kumble “excelled academically”.  But how academically successful was Brett Lee?

Adds Professor Sally Walker, vice-chancellor, Deakin University, “At Deakin, we are absolutely dedicated to working hard to achieve quality outcomes in our research and our teaching; this is similar to the determination that Brett has exhibited in his achievements.”

A trier, then.  Fair enough.

One of the great education stories just now is unfolding in India, and all the progress is being made in the private sector.  The state sector is very poor, and they can’t affort to throw silly money at it, the way they do here in Britain.

You get all this business jargon in British universities – “achieving our mission”, “quality outcomes”, and so on - but it doesn’t convince you that they’re really being businesslike.  In India, it does.  Maybe distance is lending enchantment to my eye, but I don’t think so.