Chinese mobile phone company Vivo is likely to pull out as the Indian Premier League’s title sponsor for this year and is in talks with the Indian cricket board for an “amicable separation” amid rising Sino-India diplomatic tensions.
The official announcement is expected to be made by Thursday, but sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed that Vivo will not be the title sponsor for IPL-13. In a day or two, the BCCI will be calling for new bids for the title sponsor this year. It is learnt, that the BCCI officials are expected to meet today itself.
In their last meetings, the BCCI and IPL Governing Council had not taken a call on VIVO being title sponsors. It led to protests and calls for boycott of the IPL by some right-wing outfits, following which the decision was taken.
It will be a one-year pullout, which will be treated as a moratorium period and if the relations improve, BCCI may look at inking a fresh three-year deal with the company from 2021 to 2023 on revised terms. The IPL will be held in the UAE from September 19 to November 10 this year.
“There is a lot of negative sentiments against the Chinese companies and it is likely to grow, hence it is felt by both the sponsor as well as BCCI it will be better to take a break and wait for the situation to improve,” said a source.
Chinese sponsorship became a bone of contention after the BCCI declared it would review the deals following the violent clashes between the armies of both the countries in eastern Ladakh. The clash, which led to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers, triggered public outrage and led to calls of boycotting Chinese companies and products.
Vivo annually pays Rs 440 crore (approximately) as part of a five-year deal lasting till 2022. It is understood that whenever a decision is taken, it will be amicable and the BCCI is not looking at encashing the bank guarantee.
