#BoycottIPL: Fans Slam BCCI For Retaining Chinese Sponsors For IPL 2020

The Indian Premier League's Governing Council on August 2 decided to retain all its sponsors, including Chinese mobile company VIVO, and other companies like Paytm and Dream1, which also have Chinese investments. The Council also announced that the event will be held in UAE this year, after months of deliberation and delay due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Chinese mobile company VIVO is a title sponsor of the IPL and has a five-year contract ending 2022 with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and pays nearly Rs 440 crore annually. "We don't have the time to make any changes at this moment," a governing council member told The Indian Express.

The tournament will be played from September 19 to November 10, the IPL GC announced after a virtual meeting on Sunday.

"The 53-day tournament will witness 10-afternoon matches starting at 15:30 IST while the evening matches will start at 19:30 IST," stated a release from the BCCI.

Since the violent clash between the Indian Army and Chinese Army along the Line of Actual Control in Galwan Valley, Chinese sponsorship has became a bone of contention across the country. The BCCI had promised to review the deals in the aftermath of the violent scuffle along the LAC that claimed lives of 20 of our Indian Army personnel.

Opposing the BCCI's decision to retain Chinese company Vivo as the title sponsor for IPL, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. The trade body has also urged the Modi government to withhold permission for the event.

"We are constrained to bring to your kind notice the recent decision of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to retain Chinese company VIVO as its title sponsor for IPL to be held in Dubai," the letter by Praveen Khandelwal, the CAIT national general secretary read.

"At a time when Chinese aggression on Indian borders in last month gave much rise to the sentiments of people of India against China and the Union Government under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is espousing his call for 'vocal for local' and 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat', the decision of the BCCI runs contrary to the broad policy of the government," it adds.

BCCI's decision to retain Vivo as title sponsors has caused massive outrage after #BoycottIPL started trending on Twitter.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala lashed out at the BJP for their "double-standards" after the IPL's GC on Sunday decided to retain Chinese sponsors and gave a go-ahead for the twenty-twenty tournament to be played in the UAE.

In another major decision, the IPL GC also approved the women's IPL. "Women's T20 Challenge will also take place in the UAE and will comprise three teams with four matches to be played during the IPL Playoff week," the Board's press release stated.

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