Reports: BCCI planning to rope in Vivo as the title sponsor for IPL 2021

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to host the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League in the month of April and May after successfully concluding IPL 2020 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) across three venues Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. As the board is gearing up for IPL 2021, the talks regarding the title sponsorship have started once again.

The Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo had opted out of the IPL 2020 title sponsorship after a disagreement with India’s cricket board over a discount on the sponsorship fee and in response to growing opposition to a Chinese brand backing the tournament following the political fallout between India and China on the Galwan valley border. The company had received a lot of backlash on social media as a result of which it had decided to put a halt to its longstanding deal with the BCCI on halt for 2020.

Thus, the Indian board had to search for new title sponsors for IPL 2020 and their search had ended on Dream11. The fantasy sports platform had won the bid against companies like BYJU’s and Unacademy by quoting the highest amount of Rs. 222 crores. This meant that the BCCI had to incur a loss of Rs 217.80 as Vivo had acquired the title sponsorship rights for the T20 league starting 2018 for INR 440 crore per year for five seasons.

Vivo expected to replace Dream11 as title sponsors

In their contract with Dream11, BCCI had clearly stated that the company will have to make way for Vivo in case the latter decides to continue their association with the T20 Championship. However, if Vivo doesn’t turn up, then Dream11 will continue to hold the title rights till the 2022 edition. The break up of Dream11’s winning bid is as follows: Rs 222 crore for the first year, Rs 240 crore for year two, and Rs 240 crore for year three, for an average of Rs 234 crore per year.

As the BCCI has decided to host the mini-auction for the upcoming season of T20 Extravaganza on February 18, they have also provided clarity on the sponsorship situation. As per a report in Cricbuzz, the BCCI is open to the return of VIVO as the title sponsor for the 14th edition of the league as well as the coming seasons, as iterated in the contract. However, Vivo is yet to make a decision in this regard.