The IPL is the most lucrative cricket tournament in the world, and a marketing and advertising dream. Companies pay large sums of money for the right to be associated, in anticipation demand for their products and services is likely to see substantial boost. Being title sponsors has an added cachet because, every time the words IPL are said in any official context, the name of the brand will be mentioned in the same context.
That was why Chinese mobile phone operator Vivo was prepared to pay an annual sum of INR 440 crore in 2018 for a five-year deal to be the title sponsors.
However, political and diplomatic relations between India and China often simmer, with the disputed border in the Himalayan region always a potential flashpoint. Soldiers from the neighbours face to face at many points. Skirmishes do, occur, and in January 2020, a confrontation left troops on both sides injured.
That led to a backlash against Chinese companies in India, particularly Chinese technology companies who had invested heavily in what was regarded as a lucrative market for them.
The IPL was not immune, and convened a meeting of the Governing Council to review all its sponsorship deals. Vivo decided to stand down and were replaced by Dream11, a fantasy sports brand. However, Vivo resumed its deal in 2021 and extended their contract until 2023 to account for the year that they had missed.
Then Vivo had a change of mind and decided that they no longer wanted to be associated with the IPL. Although no official reason was given, the speculation doing the rounds was that their withdrawal because they expected a negative public reaction to their continued association with the tournament and intended to keep a lower profile in future. Instead, multinational conglomerate Tata Group bid and win the rights, and are the title sponsors for this year and next.