Chinese company Vivo pulls out of IPL 2020 sponsorship, say reports

Chinese mobile phone company Vivo has withdrawn from IPL 2020 sponsorship, according to reports. IPL 2020 will be played in UAE from September 19 to November 10

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Bengaluru, First Published Aug 4, 2020, 5:19 PM IST | Last Updated Aug 4, 2020, 5:24 PM IST

Bengaluru: Chinese mobile phone company Vivo has pulled out of the title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at least for this year, according to media reports on Tuesday (August 4).

On Sunday (August 2), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said IPL 2020 will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from September 19 to November 10. The IPL Governing Council (GC) met on Sunday and said the title sponsor Vivo will be retained amid the tensions between India and China.

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Following this decision, there was severe backlash on social media with #BoycottIPL trending on Twitter on Monday (August 3). Netizens slammed the BCCI for not honouring the sentiments of Indians and continuing with Vivo as IPL’s title sponsor.

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Now, India Today reported that Vivo has on its own withdrawn from IPL sponsorship for this year. They will return for next year’s edition. In 2017, Vivo became IPL title sponsor with a five-year contract for Rs 2,199 crore. Vivo had replaced Pepsi, and pays the BCCI Rs 440 crore every year.

Also, there were other media reports which claimed Vivo has exited IPL sponsorship for only this year.

With the latest development, the BCCI has to look for a new sponsor. However, the Indian cricket board or Vivo is yet to make any official statement on the pull out.

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