Cricket India’s Executive Board Chairman, Sourav Ganguly, said that the decision of the country’s top cricket tournament (IPL Twenty20) to suspend the lucrative contract with main sponsor Vivo (China) was just … not a big deal.
IPL last week suspended a deal with Vivo, the Chinese company that signed a five-year contract in 2017 worth more than $ 330 million to sponsor the world’s richest cricket tournament. “I wouldn’t call it a financial crisis. It’s just a bit of uncertainty. BCCI has a very solid foundation,” said Ganguly, head of Cricket in India (BCCI). – matches, athletes, administrators in the past made this tournament very strong so BCCI can handle all such incidents.
Mr. Ganguly added at an online meeting last weekend quoted by Press Trust of India: “You leave your options open. It’s like Plan A and Plan B. ”Previously, Vivo said its decision to cancel the sponsorship deal had been agreed by both parties.
According to AFP, the wave of calls to boycott Chinese companies and products in India has increased after the clash on the two countries’ borders on June 15. This clash left 20 Indian soldiers dead. The Indian government has banned dozens of Chinese smartphone apps – including popular video-sharing platform TikTok – and has also taken other measures to restrict trade with China.
IPL and BCCI have partnerships with companies including Paytm, Swiggy, Dream11, and Byju, all of which are Chinese-owned. According to reports, BCCI has been in talks with Indian companies on sponsorship deals but is expected to make less than $ 60 million they receive from Vivo.
Each of the IPL’s eight teams will lose nearly $ 4 million in funding lost after a boycott of Chinese sponsors, a tournament official told AFP but requested anonymity. The prestigious IPL Twenty20 tournament is bringing huge revenue to BCCI and is estimated to generate more than $ 11 billion for the Indian economy. Tournaments usually start in March, but have been postponed several times this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.