VIVO pulls out as title sponsors of IPL 2020

Chinese mobile brand VIVO has pulled out as the title sponsors of the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). On Sunday, August 2, after a IPL governing council meeting, it was learned that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to retain all the sponsors for the upcoming IPL. The decision didn’t go down well with the netizens by any means.

A hashtag by the name of ‘Chinese Premier League’ did the rounds on social media. India’s relationship with China has worsened over the last few weeks. 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in a cross-border fight with the Chinese troopers. The occurring gave rise to a massive uproar and people from every nook and corner of the country called for banning Chinese products.

Massive development ahead of the IPL

Earlier, it was reported that VIVO was retained as the title sponsors. “All I can say is that all our sponsors are with us. Hopefully you can read between the lines,” an IPL Governing Council member had mentioned, reported by NDTV Sports. Earlier, the Indian government banned 59 Chinese Applications, including Tik-Tok and Helo.

The 13th edition of the IPL is set to get underway on September 19 and continue until November 10. The 53-day tournament will take place across three venues in Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Precautionary measures will also be in place bearing in the situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Indian Premier League Governing Council (IPL GC) met today via video-conference to decide on the issues concerning the VIVO IPL 2020 edition. Taking note of the prevailing COVID-19 situation in India, the IPL GC decided to stage the tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the matches will be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi subject to necessary clearances from the Government of India,” BCCI had said in a press release.

The IPL was initially set to start on March 29 with the match between the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. However, due to the lockdowns, the event had to be postponed for an indefinite time period. It remains to be seen how things pan out as the tournament comes closer.