Vivo retains Indian Premier League title sponsorship from 2018 till 2022

Vivo, who had replaced Pepsi as the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League in 2015 for a period of two years, will now be the title sponsor of the tournament from 2018 till 2022.

Vivo, the Chinese mobile company, has retained the title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League from 2018 till 2022. In a tweet by the official handle of the IPL, Vivo had retained the title sponsorship after bidding 2,199 crore.

Mumbai Indians won the Indian Premier League title for the third time after beating Rising Pune Supergiant by one run.(PTI)

Vivo had replaced PepsiCo as the title sponsor of the high-profile tournament in 2015. The move had come after PepsiCo decided to suddenly pullout from a five-year deal that was to end in 2017.

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In 2015, Vivo had bid Rs 200 crore for the title sponsorship. In this period, Vivo bid Rs 2,199 crore for the title sponsorship, a whopping increase of 554 percent from their previous bid.

Speaking on the announcement, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla commented, “We are delighted to have Vivo joining us once again as the title sponsor for IPL for next five years. The association with Vivo has been great for the past two seasons and I am sure they will continue to make it bigger and better.”

The 2018 IPL will mark the 11th edition of the tournament and there is no clarity on whether all players will go into the auction pool. There is also lack of clarity regarding the status of Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiant as Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will be making a comeback after been banned for two seasons due to the spot-fixing scandal in 2013.

Vivo is making a big push into Indian sports. Apart from the Indian Premier League, the mobile company has also acquired the rights of becoming the title sponsors of the Pro-Kabaddi League for a period of five years. The deal was announced in May 2017 and it is valued at Rs 300 crore.