IPL 2020: Indian Home ministry gives go ahead for BCCI to shift IPL to UAE

Dubai: The much-awaited clearance from the Home Ministry of Indian government to shift the tournament to the UAE has come though, according to reliable sources. It has been cleared ''in principle,'' sources told Gulf News, clearing the decks for the event to be held from September 19 to November 10 this year.

This is the second occasion the cricket showpiece is coming to the Gulf region, the first one being in 2014 when the first leg of the event had to be moved to the UAE due to Parliamentary elections in the country. All the three international venues: Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are scheduled to host the matches.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will, meanwhile, invite bids through a tender process to find a title-sponsor for the upcoming edition after they and VIVO, the Chinese mobile phone major, made a formal announcement about their separation on Thursday.

“BCCI will come out with the ITB (Invitation to Bid) soon. Tender process will be followed as the board believes in transparency,” a BCCI official told the media.

Under the ITB, the winning bidder will be granted title sponsorship rights for this year’s IPL, the 13th edition of the event.

Earlier on Thursday, BCCI decided to officially announce the suspension of the partnership with title sponsors Vivo, who are expected to make a comeback next year with an additional year’s contract at the back-end till 2023. ‘‘The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020,’’ says a terse one line press release.

The move comes after the BCCI and the IPL Governing Council were both criticised for retaining Vivo as the title sponsor amid raging anti-China sentiments in the country.

The government has already banned 59 Chinese mobile apps, placed restrictions on Chinese investments and are reviewing the partnerships Indian educational institutions have with Chinese counterparts.

The development took place in the backdrop of tensions between the two countries along the LAC in Ladakh, where 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in June.