Focus is on hosting another successful season of IPL, board officials said.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is in no hurry to drop companies with Chinese investments as sponsors for the Indian national cricket team of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Board officials told The Economic Times there is “no pressure” to drop Indian companies with Chinese investments, such as IPL partners Paytm and Dream11, or team India jersey sponsor Byju’s. Paytm is also the title sponsor for Team India’s home matches and a central sponsor for umpires at the IPL.
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"We are here for the growth of Indian cricket and not to make a political statement. All of these companies, Paytm, Dream11, Byju's and even Swiggy, have been incorporated in India, owned by Indians and a majority of employees are Indians. It is unfair for anyone to consider them Chinese," a senior board official said.
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They added that focus is on hosting “another successful season of IPL.”
Vivo, a Chinese brand, was the official partner of the IPL, per a five-year contract with the BCCI. Amid growing calls for the boycott of Chinese companies in India, the sponsorship was “mutually paused”.
BCCI got permission to hold IPL 2020 in the UAE. The tournament is scheduled to begin in 40 days. While it is yet to replace the title sponsor, the board has issued an expression of interest (EoI) in this regard, bids for which will be received till August 18.