- Political tension between India and China meant Vivo sat out 2020 IPL season
- Chinese smartphone manufacturer returned as title sponsor for 2021
- IPL expanding to ten teams for 2022
Indian conglomerate Tata Group will replace Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo as title sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the cricket competition’s chairman Brijesh Patel has revealed.
Patel confirmed the deal to various Indian news outlets, with the contract to kick in from the upcoming edition of the domestic Twenty20 cricket tournament. The arrangement also covers the 2023 IPL, according to ESPNcricinfo.
There had been doubts over Vivo’s long-term prospects as the IPL’s title sponsor after the company sat out the 2020 season due to political tension between China and India. That move saw fantasy sports platform Dreamm11 step in as the IPL’s lead partner, before Vivo returned for the 2021 campaign.
Vivo’s five-year arrangement with the IPL, due to run until 2022, was worth around I₹440 crore (US$60 million) annually. Dream11 paid I₹222 crore (US$30 million) to title sponsor the IPL in 2020, according to Indian outlet Outlook.
At the time of Vivo’s IPL return in 2021, it was not confirmed if the two parties had renegotiated a contract just for the year or if Vivo would honour its original deal.
Financial terms of the Tata deal were not disclosed. The conglomerate has been previously involved with the IPL through its subsidiaries, including Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services, which had partnerships with the league itself and the Rajasthan Royals franchise, respectively.
This year’s IPL will expand from eight teams to ten after two new franchises were acquired for a combined fee of more than US$1.7 billion. Indian-based conglomerate RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG Group) bought the Lucknow-based franchise for US$964 million, while private equity firm CVC Capital Partners purchased the Ahmedabad expansion team for around US$736 million.
