'Vivo transfer Indian T20 League title rights to Tata' - Reports

Chinese mobile manufacturing company Vivo has decided to pull out of the sponsorship deal for the next season of the Indian T20 League (ITL). The company requested the BCCI to transfer the title rights to Tata, which the board has accepted and the league will now be called Tata ITL.

BCCI took this decision during the ITL Governing Council meeting on January 11. Vivo first became the sponsor of the ITL in 2016 by paying INR 100 crores for a two-year deal. In 2018, the company again grabbed the sponsorship deal for the next five years by paying a staggering amount of INR 2199 crores.

Before the start of the 2020 season, Vivo had to transfer the rights to the fantasy platform Dream11 after a disagreement with the BCCI over a discount on the sponsorship deal and facing backlash due to the Galwan stand-off between India and China.

According to a report published in Cricbuzz, a few BCCI officials who attended the ITL GC meeting confirmed the transfer of the rights.

"There was a request from Vivo to exit the IPL sponsorship deal and the GC has approved it," an official told as quoted by Cricbuzz. "The BCCI will continue to earn the same fee for the title rights."

Vivo’s five-year deal was to expire in 2022 but it was extended to 2023 due to the company’s absence in the 2020 season. Hence, Tata will have the opportunity to remain the title sponsor for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

BCCI is yet to host the mega player auction and the dates for the same might be announced in the next few days. The two new teams are allowed to pick three players before 30 January and the auction might take place during the first or the second week of February.