Sourav Ganguly gets IPL 2020 boycott threat by Indian traders after anti-China sentiments

The Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season continues to stay indefinitely postponed amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Recently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Treasurer Arun Dhumal confirmed that IPL will retain VIVO as their title sponsors for the 2020 event, should the now-postponed season goes ahead sometime later this year. With the India China standoff and the rise of political tensions between the two countries, the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) has written a letter to BCCI President Sourav Ganguly asking the board to end the sponsorship deal with VIVO and any other Chinese firms after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in Ladakh’s Galwan valley last week.

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India China standoff: CTI urges Sourav Ganguly to reconsider IPL 2020 BCCI VIVO deal

According to India Today, CTI threatened Sourav Ganguly says that if BCCI does not end its deal with VIVO or any other Chinese firms, than Indian traders will boycott the IPL 2020 as well as home international fixtures. Apart from VIVO, eCommerce payment system PayTm is also one of the title sponsors, that has Chinese conglomerate AliBaba as one of its principal investors.

Ever since the Indian and Chinese army clashed at Galwan Valley on June 15 and 16, the Indian fans are calling for the removal of VIVO as IPL 2020 title sponsors. VIVO is a Chinese phone manufacturing company, which retained its IPL sponsorship rights in December 2019 in a deal worth a record ₹2199 crore.

Considering the India China standoff and anti-China sentiments in the country, the IPL 2020 Governing Council recently announced that they have scheduled a meeting for this week to review the BCCI VIVO deal going forward. Although a few days ago, the Indian cricket body stated that they will get rid of the BCCI VIVO deal only if the Indian government puts a ban on Chinese products and sponsors.

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BCCI President Sourav Ganguly’s stance on IPL 2020

The IPL 2020 was originally intended to commence on March 29 before BCCI President Sourav Ganguly delayed the launch of the tournament. Regardless of the BCCI VIVO deal or India China standoff, the Indian board is contemplating to organise the IPL 2020 between September-November if the proposed T20 World Cup in Australia gets shifted to a later date. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is scheduled to take a call on the fate of T20 World Cup in July.

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Image credits: AP