Chinese sponsorship of IPL: Dates of governing council meet not fixed yet

No date has been finalised for the meeting of Indian Premier League's (IPL) governing council, sources within the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Monday.

The IPL's governing council is slated to hold a meeting this week in order to review various sponsorship deals as 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in a violent clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh.

"As of now no date has been decided for the governing council meeting, BCCI is awaiting a report from the internal marketing team on overall financial aspects of IPL," sources within the BCCI told ANI.

Currently, Chinese mobile manufacturer Vivo is the title sponsor of the IPL and the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) gets Rs 440 crore annually from the five-year deal ending in 2022.
 

The tensions have been flaring up at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between Indian and Chinese troops and the calls for boycotting Chinese products are increasing by the minute.

20 Indian Army personnel, including a Colonel, were killed in the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops.

Indian intercepts had revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured in the violent clash. The commanding officer of the Chinese Unit is among those killed, sources had confirmed to ANI.

The IPL was scheduled to commence from March 29 but was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this month, the BCCI said it can host the IPL behind closed doors if the situation demands it. The board also said that it is working on all possible options to stage the tournament this year.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had stated the intention of going ahead with IPL this year in his letter to all affiliated members of the cricketing body.