A while back the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officially suspended its contract with the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL) a Chinese mobile phone brand Vivo. The decision was taken amid the border tension between India and China following the Galwan Valley clash in the month of June.
After suspending its 5-year contract with Vivo, the IPL governing body invited new bidders for the vacant space. A cricket fantasy league platform Dream11 outbid the other bidders- Byju’s, Unacademy, and Tata Sons to bag the title sponsorship rights for IPL 2020.
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Yesterday, the defending champions of the IPL, Mumbai Indians shared the new logo with the new title sponsors on board. They welcomed the new sponsors and wrote, “Now taking guard #Dream11”. They also congratulated the cricket fantasy league platform for winning the title sponsorship rights.
View this post on InstagramNow taking guard #Dream11IPL . Congratulations, @dream11! . #OneFamily @iplt20
A post shared by Mumbai Indians (@mumbaiindians) on Aug 20, 2020 at 1:25am PDT
It is speculated that Dream11 made a bid of a whopping Rs 220 crore for a period of 4 months and 13 days. They had asked the BCCI to extend the contract till 2021 and 2022 in case Vivo doesn’t return, but the board turned down the offer. BCCI had a contract of Rs 440 crore per year with the former title sponsor Vivo.
The money-spinning league was originally slated to begin on March 29 but was indefinitely postponed due to the lockdown imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Later, BCCI announced that they will be staging the 13th season of the IPL in the UAE, as the COVID-19 cases in India have increased.
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The tournament will begin on September 19, the first match will be played between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.