The BCCI on Thursday suspended the IPL title sponsorship deal with Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for the event’s upcoming edition amid soaring Sino-India diplomatic tensions. The BCCI sent out a one-line statement without giving any details to say that Vivo will not be associated with the IPL this year. “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020,” the press release stated. Vivo won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of Rs 2190 crore, approximately Rs 440 crore per annum. 

The BCCI is likely to float a tender for the new title sponsors as mandated by its constitution. 

The IPL starts on September 19 in the UAE, forced out of India due to the rising COVID-19 cases.