BCCI to review IPL sponsorship deal with VIVO after China clashes

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) has decided to review IPL sponsorship deals, including one with Chinese mobile phone manufacturer VIVO, after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a skirmish in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh recently.

Taking note of the border skirmish that resulted in the martyrdom of Indian soldiers, the IPL Governing Council has convened a meeting next week to review IPL’s various sponsorship deals.

The meeting of the IPL Governing Council will review the yearly Rs 440 crore title sponsorship deal with Vivo among others.

Taking to Twitter, BCCI wrote,  "Taking note of the border skirmish that resulted in the martyrdom of our brave jawans, the IPL Governing Council has convened a meeting next week to review IPL`s various sponsorship deals."

Taking note of the border skirmish that resulted in the martyrdom of our brave jawans, the IPL Governing Council has convened a meeting next week to review IPL's various sponsorship deals — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) June 19, 2020

For those unaware, VIVO is the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League.

In 2017, Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Vivo had retained the title sponsorship rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a period of five years.

The Chinese firm won the rights for a whopping amount of Rs. 2199 crores, which is approximately Rs. 440 crore per year, four times more than what they were paying earlier.

The previous title rights deal, signed in 2015 for a two-year period, had cost the company Rs. 200 crores.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had invited applications through its Invitation to Tender process from parties to bid for the title sponsorship rights, starting August 1, 2017 and ending on July 31, 2022.

Indian real estate major DLF has won the first-ever title rights of the IPL in 2008 for Rs. 40 crore per annum for a period of five years. Beverage giant PepsiCo won the next bid in 2012 and signed a five-year deal worth Rs. 396 crores.

However, PepsiCo India terminated its contract and Vivo replaced it in 2016.