IPL 2020: Title sponsor Dream11 clarifies it is completely a ‘homegrown Indian brand’

The rising border tension between India and China led to Vivo parting its ways with the Indian Premier League (IPL). After Vivo’s departure as the title sponsor of much-awaited IPL 2020, Dream11 bagged the rights at a staggering Rs 222 crore.

Despite bragging the title sponsorship rights, Dream11 was scrutinized for its association with a Chinese company. Dream11, a fantasy gaming application, holds less than 9 per cent stake by Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent Holdings.

After receiving backlash from social media, Dream11 has come out clarifying that the company is founded by an India, making it entirely a ‘homegrown Indian brand.’

“Dream11 is almost entirely owned by Indians, which includes its founders, all 400+ Indian employees and our Indian investors such as Kalaari Capital and Multiples Equity. Out of the five investors, one of the investors has Chinese origins and holds a very small minority stake,” a spokesperson explained as quoted by Cricket Next.

IPL 2020 will mark the comeback of mainstream Indian cricket

The spokesperson also added that the company is excited by acquiring the sponsorship deal. They are taking pride in the fact that they’re so far the only sports brand to become the title sponsor of IPL.

“With live sporting action being missed by Indian sports fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IPL will mark the comeback of mainstream Indian cricket, making this IPL season the most-awaited and watched sporting event in India. Dream11 is the only sports brand to bag the title sponsorship in the IPL’s history,” the official said.

“It will be a treat for sports fans to see the collaboration of one of the biggest Indian homegrown sports brands, thereby making sports fan engagement central to this year’s IPL,” he added.

The spokesperson further said that this year’s IPL edition might break all records of sports consumption. After COVID-19 hiatus, the T20 extravaganza is all set to unfold on the UAE soil from September 19th. The cash-rich league will be played across two months, with the final being slated on November 10th.

“During the lockdown, in the absence of mainstream cricket, Indian fantasy sports fans were happy to consume non-mainstream cricket leagues from COVID-19 free regions like Vincy Premier League, ECS and so on. This trend indicates there is a lot of pent-up demand for mainstream live sports and Dream11 IPL could potentially break all records of sports consumption this year,” said the spokesperson.