Dream11’s fantasy to end in 2020

New Delhi, Aug. 19: The BCCI on Wednesday announced fantasy gaming platform Dream11 as this year’s IPL title sponsor but the company will not stay on board for the next two seasons after its conditional three-year proposal was rejected due to “low” bid amounts for 2021 and 2022.

Dream11 pipped educational technology companies BYJUs and Unacademy to win the rights for a period of four months and 13 days with a bid of `222 crore, replacing Chinese mobile phone company Vivo.

“The IPL Governing Council has announced Dream11 as the new Title Sponsor of the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League. Dream11 (Sporta Technologies Pvt. Ltd) is an Indian company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra,” a BCCI statement said on Wednesday, confirming what IPL chairman Brijesh Patel had stated on Tuesday.

Dream11 offered to pay `240 crore for years two and three in case Vivo did not come back. Vivo was forced to pull out of its `440 crore per year deal this season due to the Sino-India border standoff.

Sources said BCCI and Dream11 negotiated on the conditional threeyear bid and the board asked the company to raise the amount considerably for the next two seasons.

“Dream11 bid the highest but why will BCCI give them the rights for `240 crore when we can expect the COVID-19 situation to improve in the next two years,” a veteran BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

“We still have our deal with Vivo on. We haven’t closed it as it’s a pause. If we are getting `440 crore, why will we settle for `240 crore?” the official asked.

Dream11’s association with sports has grown over the years and it is presently partnering a