Sports Desk – Online Fantasy cricket league platform Dream11 has been named title sponsors for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Chinese smartphone-makers Vivo suspended their contract for this year.
Dream11 bid Rs 222 crore for the sponsorship rights, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said. Unacademy had bid Rs 210 crore, Tata Sons Rs 180 crore and Byju’s had bid Rs 125 crore.
The BCCI was in hunt for a new title sponsor after mutually ending its deal with Chinese mobile phone maker VIVO earlier this month for the 13th season. However, VIVO is expected to make its return for the next season.
The reason behind VIVO’s exit is the heightened diplomatic tension between India and China following a deadly clash between their armies in Ladakh earlier this year. Under the deal with Vivo, BCCI were receiving Rs 440 crore per year.
3 Fastest centuries by Indian batsmen in IPL T20
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had said after the suspension of sponsorship contract with Vivo, that it was not a financial crisis.
“I wouldn’t call it a financial crisis. It is just a little bit of a blip,” Ganguly said.
“BCCI, it’s a very strong foundation – the game, the players, the administrators in the past have made this game so strong that BCCI is able to handle all these blips,” he had said.
The IPL was originally scheduled to begin on March 29, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament will now get underway on September 19. Bcci is preparing for this. Bcci’s biggest challenge is to keep players away from Corona.
