Vivo drama puts BCCI on the spot

As the border dispute between India and China seems to have halted Vivo’s run as the Indian Premier League (IPL) title sponors, albeit temporarily, one can’t help but wonder how politics keep meddling with sporting affairs.

These are obviously highly sensitive times that have seen an incredible surge in antiChina sentiments in the country of 1.3 billion people.

So going ahead with Vivo as the IPL title sponsor this year would be a huge embarrassment for Narendra Modi especially after the Indian government’s decision to ban several top Chinese apps in the wake of the Galwan valley standoff.

Which now reminds us of the 2008 Mumbai attack that pushed two nuclear-armed neighbours — India and Pakistan — to the brink of war and how Pakistan banned its players from taking part in the IPL the following year.

Then in the auction for the 2010 IPL, the Pakistan Cricket Board faced a major humiliation as none of the franchises picked any of their players.

Remarkably, Pakistan were the reigning World T20 champions when the auction for the 2010 IPL took place in Mumbai.

The drama left then PCB chairman, Ijaz Butt, lost for words. “The IPL had given us the mandate to get permission from our foreign office, to obtain other clearances and to finalise visas. We did all this, but it is a surprise that none of them have been taken at the auction,” he had said.

Now it’s the BCCI that finds itself in a spot as it tries to salvage its money-spinner in the wake of a pandemic.