On Thursday the BCCI ended all speculations by announcing the end of their IPL title sponsorship deal Vivo. The deal that began in 2017 was a for five years which ended because of the ongoing political tension between India and China.
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The backdrop
Vivo signed a deal with the BCCI in 2017 for a five-year period which paid a huge sum of Rs 440 crore as title sponsor of the IPL to the Indian cricket board. But post the tension at the border between India and China, the demand of suspension of Chinese companies has created a huge hype. The Indian government decided to ban a few Chinese apps as well. The stand-off between India and China in the Galwan valley saw 20 Indian soldiers sacrificing their lives for the county. Since then the Vivo sponsorship has been often discussed amongst all.
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Recently the final news of IPL 2020 in Dubai brought the issue in limelight yet again. In the IPL Government Council meeting which took place on August 2, the BCCI decided to retain Vivo as the title sponsor of the league. Then on Monday, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), also criticised BCCI’s decision and said, “We have sent a communication to Amit Shah and S. Jaishankar, demanding not to give approval to the BCCI for holding the IPL in Dubai.”
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Vivo to comeback?
Eventually, the BCCI had to suspend the deal with Vivo. The official one-line release stated, “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020.”
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Reportedly the board is working with Vivo so that the mobile company might come back for a three-year fresh deal in 2021. But a BCCI official told PTI, “Here we are talking about diplomatic tensions and you expect that after November, when IPL ends and before the next IPL starts in April 2021, there would be no anti-China sentiment? Are we serious?”
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