On a day of big moves, the Board of Control for Cricket in India decided to float tenders for two teams to replace the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, which will return to the Indian Premier League in 2018. 

The BCCI Working Committee, which met here on Sunday, decided not to axe CSK and RR, serving a two-year suspension recommended by the apex court-appointed Justice RM Lodha panel for involvement in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal. 

The BCCI committee also confirmed beverage giant PepsiCo Inc’s exit as title sponsor of IPL and its replacement by Chinese mobile phone maker Vivo Mobiles up to 2017. While BCCI did not disclose the deal amount, sources in the know said Vivo could be paying ₹80 crore for two years.

The BCCI said Vivo will have to give the bank guarantee in the next 10 days. The brand, which entered India in 2014, reportedly has presence across 200 cities.

“It is a brilliant awareness strategy for Vivo,” said brand consultant Harish Bijoor. “Smartphones are the biggest consumer products of our time, and Vivo has replaced a heritage brand like Pepsi.” PepsiCo took over as the title sponsor from DLF in 2013 after a ₹396.8-crore bid for a five-year period ending 2017. This was nearly double that DLF paid to become title sponsors of the tournament from 2008 till 2012.

Now, PepsiCo will not have to pay for the remaining two years as the sponsorship rights have been shifted to Vivo.

PepsiCo had wanted to pull out of the IPL sponsorship due to controversies surrounding it. The company had sent a notice to BCCI earlier stating that enough had not been done to prevent sporting frauds. “PepsiCo has been associated with cricket in India for the past 25 years and we immensely value its contribution to the success of our brands. We will continue to associate with sports and cricket as a platform to connect with our consumers,” said Vipul Prakash, Vice-President, Beverages Category, PepsiCo India.

Nike is apparel sponsor The BCCI also extended Nike’s contract as the official apparel sponsor of the Indian cricket team. Sources said Nike will pay BCCI ₹1 crore per match against ₹80-85 lakh in the previous seasons. Other decisions include appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the independent agency for due diligence on funds use by State associations.

The committee also appointed Gokhale & Sathe as the BCCI’s internal auditors.

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