Dream11 wins title sponsorship for Indian Premier League 2020 for Rs 222 cr

The Board of Control for Cricket in India was gunning for home-grown entities as the title sponsor of the 2020 edition of the IPL

Fantasy cricket app Dream11, which count’s China’s Tencent among its investors, has won the title sponsorship for Indian Premier League 2020 for Rs 222 crore, according to reports. The sponsorship for IPL 2020 was up for grabs as the erstwhile title sponsor, Vivo, had decided to take a break from the tournament this season amid calls for boycott of Chinese goods in the wake of a standoff between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh since June.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had earlier been reported to be looking for a home-grown entity as the title sponsor for the 2020 edition of IPL in place of Chinese smartphone brand Vivo which had bagged the sponsorship rights for Rs 438 cr a year.

"Dream 11 has won the title sponsorship for INR 222 crore," IPL chairman Patel told ANI.

On August 10, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had sent out invitations to third parties to express their interest (EOI) in acquiring the title sponsorship rights for IPL 2020.

The tournament will be held in the UAE from September 19, 2020, to November 10, 2020.

The move is in keeping with the overall spirit of having a local sponsor for the T20 tournament, counted among the world's most valuable sporting properties.

The Tata Group, e-learning app Unacademy, Reliance Jio and Patanjali were some of the Indian players reported to be in the race for IPL 2020 title sponsorship. Dream11 and Byju's had also placed bids, according to sources. Amazon, which had initially expressed interest, did not enter a bid. August 14 was the last day for receiving formal expressions of interest, according to the BCCI.