IPL 2020: BCCI confirms Vivo would not be title sponsor of the T20 league this year

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday confirmed rumours that the Chinese mobile company Vivo would not be the title sponsor of the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL). “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,” BCCI said in its media release. It was reported two days back that Vivo is likely to pull out as the title sponsor this season. BCCI’s association with Vivo became a controversy after India’s Galwan Valley clash with China, in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives. However, it gathered a lot of attention recently when on Sunday the IPL governing council decided to retain Vivo as the title sponsor. In the same meeting, it was also decided that the league will take place in the UAE this year between 19 September and 10 November instead of India, due to the growing coronavirus cases. Vivo first became the title sponsor of IPL in 2016 following the exit of PepsiCo. It paid an amount of Rs 196 crore for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, before winning the title sponsorship bid for a period of five years from 2018 to 2022 for an amount of Rs 2,199 crore. It pays Rs 440 crore per season to BCCI for being the title sponsor of IPL.