Reports: BCCI brings in Unacademy as IPL central sponsors for three years

With around three weeks remaining for the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been busy finalising the sponsors. After VIVO backed out as the title sponsors following tensions between the Indian and Chinese government, the world’s richest cricket board roped in fantasy platform Dream11 at a bid of INR 222 crores.

It has now been learned that the BCCI has roped in Unacademy as the IPL’s central sponsors for the next three years at a deal of INR 120-130 crore. The educational platform was also in race for the title sponsorship along with Dream11 and Byju’s. The BCCI is yet to make an official announcement though regarding the development.

BCCI trying its best before IPL 2020

“The deal with Unacademy is completed for 3 years. We will make the official announcement soon,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying to InsideSport. The deal, reportedly, came into place after Future Group backed off. If reports are to be believed, the BCCI is also in talks with CRED, a credit card payment company, as one of the central sponsors for the tournament.

The BCCI, allegedly, made INR 618 crores last year from IPL sponsorships and this time, they seemed to have gotten sponsorships of INR 360 crores. Before the tournament gets underway on September 19, the Indian board is likely to bring in one more sponsor.

However, it goes without saying that revenue generation will be an arduous task in the IPL. The final of the tournament will take place on November 10 with Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah being the venues.

IPL 2020 Sponsorships:

Title Sponsor – Dream11 – INR 222 Cr

Official Partners – Tata Motors, Unacademy – INR 80 Cr

Umpire Partner – INR 28Cr

Strategic Timeout partner – INR 30 Cr

The BCCI is also yet to release the schedule for the prestigious tournament. The spike of COVID-19 cases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is speculated to be the reason behind the same. The hot and humid conditions in the UAE has also concerned the board to some extent. Bearing in mind the coronavirus pandemic, the BCCI has put forth a number of regulations and protocols going into the IPL.