Chinese mobile manufacturer Vivo has pulled out as Indian Premier League's title sponsor from this year and the BCCI will replace it with Tata, the cash-rich league's governing council decided in a meeting on Tuesday, January 11. Following the governing council meeting, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed that the Tata Group, one of India's largest business conglomerates has come on board.
"Vivo has exited and the Tatas will be title sponsors," Patel told Cricbuzz. Notably, Vivo has a couple of years left in its sponsorship deal with the league and during this period, Tata will remain the main sponsor. The league will now be called Tata IPL.
Vivo had a deal of Rs 2200 crore for title sponsorship rights from 2018-2022. However, the Chinese smartphone makers had paused the deal for a year in 2020 against the backdrop of the Galwan Valley military face-off between the Indian and Chinese Army soldiers, when the rights were transferred to Dream 11.
However, Vivo were back as IPL title sponsor in 2021 and the original five-year deal got extended till 2023 because of the one-year break. Following Tuesday's Governing Council decision, the Tata Group will step in and remain the title sponsor for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Ahead of the IPL 2022, the BCCI is planning to hold a two-day mega auction in the second week of February, next year.
Kochi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi have been shortlisted and the venue will be finalised based on the availability of dates, a Cricbuzz report said.
Notably, it could well be the last mega auction that the BCCI might conduct as the majority of participants, including the franchises, agree that the idea of having a big auction after every three years is no longer a great deal.