Telecom major Bharti Televentures on Tuesday announced batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar as its new brand ambassador besides unveiling a brand campaign -- Express Yourself -- for its mobile service brand AirTel.

"Sachin and AirTel both are leaders having similar values and personality traits like trustworthiness, friendliness, youthfulness and trend-setters," Manoj Kohli, president (mobility), Bharti Televentures, said in New Delhi.

Kohli said actor Shah Rukh Khan and music director A R Rehman would continue to be AirTel's brand ambassadors.

He declined to comment on the fees paid to Tendulkar for being the brand ambassador. However, it is rumoured that the master blaster has signed the endorsement deal for a whopping Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million).

Through the 'Express Yourself' campaign, AirTel's vision is to make mobile communication a way of life in the country. The new campaign exhorts customers to freely express themselves anytime anywhere, Kohli said.

Pointing out that Bharti has grown in terms of customers, revenue and profitability despite fierce competition, he said by December it will cover 1,200 towns, becoming the largest private sector company only next to public sector BSNL in its cellular service.

Currently, the company has 4.6 million customers across the country with a market share of 25.2 per cent. In Delhi it has a customer base of over 1.2 million.

Additional inputs: Agencies