Tata Group replaces Vivo as IPL title sponsor

Tata Group is set to replace Chinese smartphone maker Vivo as the Indian Premier League's (IPL) title sponsor from this year, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told news agencies.

Vivo had won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for ₹2,200 crore. But after the India-China border standoff in eastern Ladakh led to several casualties in 2020, the deal was suspended for a 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 two entities had said in a press release at the time.

Following this, Dream11 was brought in as the title sponsor for IPL in 2020 for ₹222 crore, which was nearly half of what Vivo paid annually. The Chinese smartphone maker, however, came back as IPL's lead sponsor in 2021 after its plans to transfer the rights to another company didn't fructify.

Hailing the on-baording of Tata Group as title sponsor for the upcoming season of IPL , BCCI secretary Jay Shah said, "This is indeed a momentous occasion for the BCCI IPL as the Tata Group is the epitome of global Indian enterprise with an over 100 year old legacy and operations in more than 100 countries across six continents."

"The BCCI like the Tata Group is keen to promote the spirit of cricket across international borders, and the growing popularity of the IPL as a global sporting franchise bears testimony to the BCCI’s efforts," he said, adding that together with Tata Group, the BCCI will look to take "Indian cricket and the IPL forward to greater heights".

Commenting on this new partnership, cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle tweeted, "I have been a long-time admirer of the group and like the sound of #TataIPL."

The upcoming edition of the IPL is all set to be a 10-team tournament. RPSG Group's ₹7,090 crore bid had emerged as the winner for the Lucknow IPL franchise in October last year. Also, CVC Group now owns the Ahmedabad-based franchise after CVC Capital made the winning bid at ₹5,625 crore.

Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, SunRisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings, and Rajasthan Royals are other franchises in the league.

Last week, Fortune India reported that fantasy sports platform My11Circle has signed a deal to become official title sponsor for RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group-owned Lucknow franchise of Indian Premier League (IPL). As part of the three-year deal, the logo of My11Circle, which is owned by Games24x7, will feature on the Lucknow team jersey. RPSG group is also the franchise owner of Fortune India.