Ahead of IPL 2021 in April, BCCI continues to work on sponsorship deals. The cricket board confirmed a partnership deal with digital brokerage firm Upstox on Tuesday. As per terms of this multi-year deal, Upstox will act as the official partner of IPL.
Sportsmint had previously revealed that Upstox had leapfrogged Groww in the race to become the official partner of IPL. Groww was reportedly close to completing a multi-year deal with IPL, but Upstox trumped them to reach an agreement. Upstox will join the elusive list of sponsors that includes Cred, Dream11, Unacademy, and Tata Motors. The online trading platform will be getting exposure in stadiums and digitally during the course of this long-term deal with IPL.
While commenting on the deal with Upstox, IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel said, “We are pleased to have Upstox on board as an official partner of the Indian Premier League 2021. As one of the most-watched cricket leagues in India, IPL along with Upstox, one of India’s fastest-growing digital-trading platforms, can create a huge impact on the audience, especially the millions of Indian youth who are financially independent and looking for more options to manage their portfolios.”
Sportsmint also understands that IPL is also looking to make it six official partners before the start of the new season next month. Since IPL had to find a title sponsor at the last moment in 2020, signing multiple official partners will provide more financial security if a big sponsor backs out at the last moment.
Meanwhile, VIVO will be making a return as title sponsor of IPL. The Chinese communication technology firm had opted out of IPL 2020 due to tensions between India and China. Dream11 ended up with the highest bid to become title sponsor last year. VIVO was looking to transfer title rights to another brand, but no adequate offer was available on the table. In the end, VIVO decided to return and work with BCCI for IPL 2021.
IPL 2021 is set to begin on April 9 with the clash between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai. As of now, the entire tournament is expected to be held behind closed doors across six cities in India. Since fans will not be present in stadiums, sponsors and partners of IPL will be looking to come up with creative digital campaigns.