BCCI confirms IPL will retain VIVO as title sponsors amidst India-China standoff

The Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season continues to stay indefinitely postponed amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, recent reports attain positive news for IPL fans as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are considering to stage the tournament sometime later this year. Meanwhile, BCCI Treasurer Arun Dhumal recently confirmed that IPL will retain VIVO as their title sponsors for the 2020 season, despite the rising political tensions between India and China.

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India China standoff: BCCI to continue IPL alliance with VIVO

VIVO is a Chinese smartphone manufacturing company which bagged the IPL title rights in 2017 for a period of five years. The company brought the deal for a record ₹2,199 crore (US$288 million). Following the violence that broke out between the Indian and Chinese troops at Ladakh’s Galwan Valley on June 15 and 16, Dhumal confirmed that the China-based VIVO will continue to be IPL’s title sponsors, thus ending speculations about BCCI reconsidering their deal.

While issuing a media statement, the BCCI official stated that the contract between IPL and VIVO was signed by their predecessors and the five-year “will continue” till its term ends. He also said that as far as anti-China sentiment is concerned, he and the board are all in for banning Chinese products. Dhumal stated that for him and BCCI as an organisation, the country always “comes first”.

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The BCCI Treasurer then went ahead and differentiated the current situation with that of the banning of Chinese products. He said that in this case, the money is actually coming to India through securing the IPL sponsorship. Arun Dhumal added a point that since a Chinese company is allowed to sell their product and make money through an Indian consumer, there is no reason to let that money go out of India.

BCCI’s stance on IPL 2020

The IPL 2020 was originally intended to launch on March 29 before BCCI decided to indefinitely postpone the tournament. According to Mumbai Mirror, the BCCI is contemplating to organise IPL 2020 between September-November if the proposed T20 World Cup in Australia gets shifted to a later date. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is scheduled to take a call on the fate of T20 World Cup in July.

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