CAIT unhappy over Dream11 bagging IPL 2020 sponsorship deal

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) is unhappy for the fact that Dream11, having stakeholders from China, managed to bag the sponsorship deal for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The traders’ body wrote to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), expressing their anguish over the matter.

Dream11 got the deal after VIVO, a Chinese mobile brand, backed out as the title sponsors after India and China’s souring relationship in the last few months or so. As far as CAIT is concerned, it is running a campaign to boycott Chinese goods.

CAIT writes to Sourav Ganguly regarding IPL sponsorship

“We are deeply pained to note that now Dream 11 has been chosen as sponsor of IPL 2020 which has Chinese company Tencent Global as one of the major stakeholders,” CAIT wrote in a letter to BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, reported by NDTV Sports.

“We are of the considered opinion that awarding sponsorship to Dream 11 is nothing but a bye pass route to neglect the sentiments and feelings prevailing among the people of India against China for its regular attempts to invade the interests of India,”  said CAIT.

Previously, after some Indian soldiers lost their lives in a cross-border fight with the Chinese troopers, the Indian government banned as many as 59 Chinese applications, including short-video platform Tik-Tok and Helo.

Dream11 left behind companies like Byju’s and Unacademy to seal the deal at a stunning INR 222 crores for a couple of years now. It’s an Indian company founded by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth. As far as VIVO is concerned, it had struck a deal of INR 440 crores for the current season.

The 2020 IPL is set to get underway on September 19, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Earlier, the tournament was scheduled to be played from the month of March in India. However, the coronavirus pandemic ended up playing spoilsport.

Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi are the hosts for the tournament to be played over a period of 53 days. Teams and franchises have already started their preparations for the T20 league. Chennai Super Kings have started their preparatory camp at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.