BCCI
Treasurer Arun Dhumal said Chinese companies sponsoring an Indian event like
the IPL only serve his country’s interests.
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New Delhi(Agencies): The BCCI is
open to reviewing its sponsorship policy for the next cycle but has no plans to
end its association with current IPL title sponsor Vivo as the money coming in
from the Chinese company is helping India’s cause and not the other way round,
board treasurer Arun Dhumal said on Friday.
Anti-China sentiments are running high in India following
the border clash between the two countries at Galwan valley earlier this week.
The first skirmish at the India-China border in more than four decades left at
least 20 Indian soldiers dead. Since then, calls have been made to boycott
Chinese products. But Dhumal said Chinese companies sponsoring an Indian event
like the IPL only serve his country’s interests. The BCCI gets Rs 440 crore
annually from Vivo and the five-year deal ends in 2022.
“When you talk
emotionally, you tend to leave the rationale behind. We have to understand the
difference between supporting a Chinese company for a Chinese cause or taking
help from Chinese company to support India’s cause,” Dhumal told PTI.
“When we are allowing
Chinese companies to sell their products in India, whatever money they are
taking from Indian consumer, they are paying part of it to the BCCI (as brand
promotion) and the board is paying 42 per cent tax on that money to the Indian
government. So, that is supporting India’s cause and not China’s.”
Oppo, a mobile phone brand like Vivo, was sponsoring the
Indian cricket team until September last year when Bengaluru-based educational
technology Byju’s start-up replaced the Chinese company. Dhumal said he is all
for reducing dependence on Chinese products but as long as its companies are
allowed to do business in India, there is no harm in them sponsoring an Indian
brand like the IPL.
“If they are not
supporting the IPL, they are likely to take that money back to China. If that
money is retained here, we should be happy about it. We are supporting our
government with that money (by paying taxes on it),” he said.
“If I am giving a
contract to a Chinese company to build a cricket stadium, then I am helping the
Chinese economy. GCA built the world’s largest cricket stadium at Motera and
that contract was given to an Indian company (L&T). Cricketing
infrastructure worth thousands of crores was created across country and none of
the contract was awarded to a Chinese company.”
Dhumal went on to say the BCCI is spoilt for choice when it
comes to attracting sponsors, whether Indian or Chinese or from any other
nation.
“If that Chinese
money is coming to support Indian cricket, we should be okay with it. I am all
for banning Chinese products as an individual, we are there to support our
government but by getting sponsorship from Chinese company, we are helping
India’s cause,” he explained.
“We can get
sponsorship money from non-Chinese companies also including Indian firms. We
can support our players any way but the idea is when they are allowed to sell
their products here, it is better that part of money comes back to the Indian
economy. The BCCI is not giving money to the Chinese, it is attracting on the
contrary. We should make decision based on rationale rather than emotion.”
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