Following the bowing out of Chinese handset maker VIVO from the role of the Indian T20 League's title sponsorship due to the Sino-India border standoff, the names of a variety of replacements have come up, including even Patanjali.
Friday, August 14 was the last date of submission for 'Expression of Interest' (EOI) to the BCCI for the four-month-and-13-day sponsorships rights.
However, the EOI does not have to mention the bid amount, for which the deadline is August 18.
Among those to have submitted an EOI include technology company Unacademy, fantasy sports platform Dream11 and interestingly, the Tata Group, which lends credence to the BCCI's expectations of the winning bid being on par with the 440 crore rupees that VIVO was fronting annually, despite this year's rights period being of a shorter duration.
"Yes, Tata Group has submitted their Expression of Interest to buy Indian T20 League title rights," a spokesperson for the company reportedly told PTI.
While companies like Jio Communications and the aforementioned Patanjali were also in the race, the BCCI did not confirm any interest from either of those companies.
The board has also stated that the highest bidder won't be ensured the title sponsorship unless the BCCI is satisfied with their plan for the lucrative league.
"A lot of times, some unknown organisations can bid insanely and then you might find there are questions regarding their credibility. Also what if a company, with sizeable Chinese investment, bids?
"Then the whole postponement of partnership with Vivo will look very stupid," said a BCCI official.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Arun Sankar
