It was on Sunday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had made its decision to retain all of its Chinese sponsors. However, VIVO has now pulled out as the title sponsor for this season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The decision was following the backlash faced on social media due to the recent India-China clash in Ladakh.
VIVO has paid Rs 2, 199 crores for a five-year contract in 2018 but they have now decided not to be the title sponsor for this year’s IPL. The cricket governing body in India recently announced that IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 8
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The 13th season of the IPL will be played at three different venues- Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi. This is still subject to approval by the government. The decision to stage IPL in the UAE was taken pertaining to rising COVID-19 cases in India and the safety of players, staff members, and others associated with the tournament.
BCCI will soon be proving IPL franchisees with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The SOPs will include all the dos and don’ts and other health safety-related stuff which will be mandatory for the players, staff members, and others to adhere to.
It is believed that the players will be heading to the UAE on August 24 to get used to the conditions. They will have to practice in a bio-secure bubble in order to not catch the COVID-19 infection. Proper screening and sanitization will be done before and after each game.
BCCI hasn’t yet said anything about whether the matches will be played behind closed doors or with spectators around. IPL was slated to begin from March 29 but got indefinitely postponed due to the lockdown.
The 53-day tournament will witness 10-afternoon matches beginning at 15:30 IST while the evening matches will begin at 19:30 IST.