IPL 2020: CAIT opposes BCCI move to retain Chinese firm Vivo as sponsor

Traders' body CAIT has opposed the decision of the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) to retain Chinese company Vivo as the title sponsor for the Indian Premier League (IPL) to be held in Dubai.

In a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has demanded that the government should not give approval to BCCI for holding the IPL event.

CAIT, which is spearheading a national movement for boycott of Chinese goods in India, requested the home minister to "take immediate cognisance of the issue and do not give any permission to BCCI for holding IPL in India or in Dubai or anywhere else".

The traders' body has also sent a letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar regarding this.

CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said, "At a time when China's aggression on the Indian border last month gave much rise to the sentiments of people of India against China and the Union government...is espousing (Prime Minister Narendra Modi's) call for Vocal for Local and Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the decision of the BCCI runs contrary to broad policy of the government."

An e-mail sent to Vivo India by PTI did not elicit a response.

The Indian Premier League's Governing Council (GC) on Sunday decided to retain all its sponsors, including Chinese mobile company Vivo, and approved Covid-19 replacements in the event to be held in United Arab Emirates (UAE) this year.

The tournament will be played from September 19 to November 10, the IPL GC decided after a virtual meeting on Sunday.

Chinese sponsorship became a bone of contention after the clashes between the Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh in June. The BCCI had promised to review the deals in the aftermath of the violent showdown.

Forced out of India due to rising Covid-19 cases, the IPL will allow unlimited Covid-19 replacements considering the delicate health safety situation across the globe.