CHENNAI: On Thursday, as the BCCI finally confirmed that their partnership with title sponsor Vivo has been suspended for IPL 2020, franchises were to yet to hear what lies ahead for them.
The eight teams were supposed to have a video conference with BCCI officials and IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel. But now, that is tentatively scheduled for Friday.
While the BCCI plans to put out a request for proposals in their search for a new title sponsor, the franchises are preparing for a substantial loss in income, even if the board takes care of the operational costs like it did during the 2014 edition.
The change of sponsor means, some of the franchises, which had already got their kits in place, have to make new ones as the name and logo of Vivo has to be removed.
While they are scheduled to leave by August 20, the franchises want the BCCI to decide on the new sponsor soon as the teams have only a couple of weeks to get new kits in place.
The story isn't the same everywhere. For some franchises, a few of their principal sponsors who had signed a deal for IPL in April-May, have pulled out due to the pandemic.
Apart from losing out on Rs 26 crore that they earned from Vivo every season, they also stand to suffer a significant cut. Some of their own sponsors have requested for a 20 per cent reduction.
Players under quarantine
Meanwhile, franchises have instructed the players to buy all their essentials for their stay in UAE, as they won't be allowed to step out of the bio-bubble under any circumstances.
A few Indian players are already under home quarantine as told by their franchises. Mumbai Indians have put their players under quarantine in a city hotel, where they will undergo Covid-19 tests.
The Chennai Super Kings are still waiting for instructions from BCCI to assemble their players in the city, where they plan to fly out from. Dubai will be their base throughout the tournament.