IPL 2020: Online education startup UnAcademy to challenge Patanjali for title sponsorship?

The Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season is all set to commence in September in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, post the VIVO IPL deal fallout, the tournament is currently without its title sponsors. As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) continues its search for new IPL sponsors, Indian education technology company Unacademy has now joined the race for securing the title rights. Unacademy, along with Tata Motors and Dream11, is already one of IPL's partners and only recently, they decided to aim for securing the title rights of the tournament.

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IPL 2020: BCCI looks for IPL sponsors after VIVO IPL deal fallout

A senior BCCI official confirmed to PTI that Unacademy has shown interest to become IPL sponsors and they have already picked up the bid papers. The official added that they will be submitting their bid soon and are currently “pretty serious” contenders. The BCCI official concluded by saying that if Patanjali also decides to bid their name as IPL sponsors, then Unacademy will have to face some “competition”.

On Monday, August 10, Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali confirmed their interest of putting in a bid. According to a recent report by News18, the Indian board would be happy with their new IPL sponsors to strike even one-third the amount of the deal they originally had with VIVO, a Chinese smartphone company. Before the VIVO IPL deal fallout, their earlier deal was worth ₹440 crore. The deal was put on hold ahead of IPL 2020 by the BCCI because of the anti-China sentiment across the country post the India China standoff at the Galwan valley, where 20 Indian soldiers were martyred in June.

Also Read | IPL 2020 To Consider Amazon Or Unacademy As New IPL Sponsors after VIVO IPL deal?

IPL dates for 2020 season

On August 2, the BCCI confirmed IPL dates for the 2020 season to be between September 19 and November 10. Apart from IPL dates, the Governing Council also confirmed that the tournament will be taking place outside India this year. The decision to shift the IPL 2020 event out of its home country was made in wake of the rising number of coronavirus cases in India.

IPL 2020 dates and venue announced

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Image credits: IPLT20.COM