The IPL has convened a meeting of its Governing Council next week to “review various sponsorship deals” for the tournament following tensions this week on the India-China border. The move reflects the fact that the IPL’s main sponsors, including title sponsor Vivo, have Chinese ownership or links.
While there has been tension at the border in the Indian region of Leh for some days, the flashpoint was an incident on the night of June 15; though details are scarce, the Indian government has said that its army lost 20 soldiers, including one senior officer, in the incident.
Vivo, a Chinese mobile handset manufacturer, first bagged the IPL title sponsorship for two years in 2015. In 2017 Vivo retained the rights signing a five-year contract, paying about USD 341 million. Soon after, IPL also roped Paytm, the mobile wallet company, as the official Umpires Partner (an on-ground sponsor)…