NEW DELHI - India's Tata Group will replace China's Vivo as title sponsor of the popular Indian Premier League, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told Reuters on Tuesday.

Smartphone maker Vivo had secured IPL sponsorship rights for 2018-2022 for nearly 22 billion rupees ($297.51 million) but withdrew from the 2020 edition of the tournament amid anti-China sentiments in India following a border clash between the neighbours.

"Tata Group will come on board as the title sponsor for the next two editions," Patel said by telephone, confirming Vivo had transferred its title rights to the salt-to-software Tata conglomerate.

A Tata Group spokesperson confirmed the development but declined to share details, while a Vivo spokesperson was not immediately available to comment.

The entire 2020 edition of the IPL and the second half of last year's competition were held in the United Arab Emirates because of the COVID-19 crisis in India.

This year's IPL will be a 10-team affair with two new franchises- Lucknow and Ahmedabad -- joining the world's richest Twenty20 competition.

($1 = 73.9480 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Christian Radnedge) ((amlan.chakraborty@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @Amlan_Reuters;))