Indian Premier League title sponsor Dream11 has dismissed the criticism about the brand’s China connection. There has been an uproar about Chinese fund Tencent’s investment in Dream11 after the fantasy sports platform has replaced Vivo as the title sponsor for the IPL 2020.
The BCCI had to pause the Vivo contract for this season in wake of the rising anti-China sentiment after 20 Indian Jawans were martyred in a standoff with the Chinese Army at the LAC in the Galwan Valley.
Dream11 on Tuesday had bagged the naming rights for IPL 2020 with a ₹ 222 crores winning bid, outbidding the offers made my e-education platforms Byju’s and Unacademy.
A Dream11 spokesperson has reportedly told news agency IANS that they take pride in being the only sports brand to be IPL’s title sponsor ever.
“With live sporting action being missed by Indian sports fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IPL will mark the comeback of mainstream Indian cricket, making this IPL season the most-awaited and watched sporting event in India. Dream11 is the only sports brand to bag the title sponsorship in the IPL’s history,” the official said.
“It will be a treat for sports fans to see the collaboration of one of the biggest Indian homegrown sports brands, thereby making sports fan engagement central to this year’s IPL.”
The spokesperson also said this year’s IPL could potentially break all records of sports consumption this year.
“We will continue to focus on brand awareness and look forward to increasing our user base from eight crore+ Indians to having 10 crore+ Indians making their Dream11 team for every Dream11 IPL match,” he concluded.
The 13th IPL edition is scheduled to start from September 19 in the UAE and will run until November 10.