IPL suspends sponsor deal with Chinese firm after border clash

New Delhi, India: The Indian Premier League on Thursday suspended a deal with its main sponsor, Chinese phone maker Vivo, amid a backlash after a deadly border clash between the two countries in June.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India said the deal had been called off for the 2020 tournament, which is due to start in the United Arab Emirates on September 19.

Vivo signed a five-year contract in 2017 worth more than $300 million to sponsor the world’s richest cricket tournament. But calls for a boycott of Chinese firms have grown since the June 15 clash in which 20 Indian soldiers died.