The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, Sourav Ganguly asserted that the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) decision to suspend a profitable contract with its title sponsor, the Chinese phone maker Vivo, following increase some tension around the border between the two nations is “just a blip”. last week, teh IPL governing council decided to suspend the agreement with Vivo, which signed a five-year contract in 2017 worth more than $330 million to sponsor the world’s richest cricket tournament.
Describing the same during the online conference, as per the quotes in PTI, Ganguly said, “I wouldn’t call it a financial crisis. It is just a little bit of a blip. BCCI, it’s a very strong foundation – the game, the players, the administrators in the past have made this game so strong that BCCI is able to handle all these blips. You keep your other options open. It is like Plan A and Plan B.”
ALSO READ: Sanjay Manjrekar Reveals Till What Time MS Dhoni Will Play
The IPL 2020 is scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from September 19 to November 10. Vivo had informed that the decision was mutually agreed with the Indian board. The voices were raised for a boycott of Chinese firms and products in India grew after the June 15 clash in which 20 Indian soldiers died.
In the last month or so, the Indian government has banned almost 100 Chinese apps and also taken other measures to restrict trade with China. According to reports, the BCCI has been having a discussion with Indian brans over sponsorship deals but was expected to make less than the $60 million it would have received from Vivo.
Each of the eight IPL teams stands can be expected to lose almost $4 million from the lost sponsorship, a team official told AFP Thursday on condition of anonymity.
ALSO READ: Virat Kohli Shares Some Memorable Moments Of Him With RCB
The cash-rich Indian Premier League has always been a money-spinner for the BCCI and is estimated to generate more than $11 billion for the Indian economy. The tournament normally commences in March but was repeatedly postponed this year because of the increasing cases of coronavirus in the country.
