Chinese sponsors in IPL: BCCI unlikely to cut ties if 'exit clause' favours VIVO

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is highly unlikely to cut ties with IPL title sponsors VIVO if the ‘exit clause’ favours the Chinese mobile phone makers, a senior BCCI official said on Wednesday. On June 19, IPL took to social media platform Twitter to state that there would be a meeting to review the tournament’s various sponsor deals. However, that meeting is yet to take place.

Following the violent clash on June 15 in eastern Ladakh, the central government decided to ban 59 Chinese apps including the controversial TikTok. The BCCI official further said that the board never used the words ‘cancel’ or ‘terminate’ the deals. 

"We still don't know about the fate of T20 World Cup, Asia Cup, so how can we just have a meeting? Yes, we need to discuss sponsorship but we never used the word cancel or terminate," a senior BCCI official, who also sits in IPL GC meetings, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

ALSO READ: WC 2011 match-fixing investigation: Upul Tharanga grilled by SIU, Kumar Sangakkara to appear next

We will only terminate if 'Exit Clause' favours us: BCCI official on Chinese sponsorship in IPL

"We said we will review sponsorship. Review means that we need to check all the modalities of the contract. If the 'Exit Clause' favours VIVO more, why should we terminate a Rs 440 crore per year contract? We will only terminate if 'Exit Clause' favours us," he added.

As per the PTI report, some BCCI officials are of the view that the board should honour the contract, which ends in 2022, unless VIVO backs out. Termination of the contract could mean that the Indian cricket board may have to pay substantial compensation.

However, the likes of PayTM, Dream XI, BYJUs and SWIGGY, who all have Chinese investors, might not have to sweat as they are Indian entities.

ALSO READ: MS Dhoni named captain as AB de Villiers picks his all-time IPL XI

"Taking note of the border skirmish that resulted in the martyrdom of our brave jawans, the IPL Governing Council has convened a meeting next week to review IPL's various sponsorship deals," the official IPL twitter handle had stated on Friday, June 19.

Interestingly, no meeting has been scheduled even after nearly two weeks of the tweet from IPL.

"I have called the IPL chairman (Brijesh Patel) and CEO (Rahul Johri) after I saw the tweet. But till date, I haven't been intimated about any meeting. Possibly, they want to have a big meeting once the T20 World Cup is officially postponed," one of the veteran GC members said.