BYJU’s has denied claims of owing any money to the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI). In a LinkedIn post, Divya Gokulnath, the co-founder of BYJU’s called out the eagerness of the media for sharing fake information regarding the company without actually cross-verifying it with other sources. She wrote:
“The bizarreness of the fake news story that we have not paid our dues to the BCCI was only matched by the urgency with which ‘media’ organizations ‘reported’ it. Even in this age of post-truth and verifying-after-reporting, we expect at least the real journalists to do some basic fact checks and not get swayed by hearsay and concocted stories by vested parties.” Her remark is a comment on the current state of journalism in the country wherein breaking a news story is far more important than verifying its credentials.
Further denying the claims of pending payment, she added “As they say, a lie travels around the world while the truth is putting its shoes on. The truth is now out with its shoes on”
Following BCCI’s declaration that the report was untrue and that the two parties had no outstanding payments, Divya made her statement. However, there is still some money owed for matches played after the two parties’ contract terminated.
Previously, it was asserted that BCCI owed an amount of around 86.21 crores to BYJU’s, the jersey sponsor of the Indian Cricket Team. These assertions, however, were quickly disproved when BCCI labelled the reports a “deliberate leak.” The cricketing body’s top council had a meeting earlier this week, and a source from the discussion disclosed information about the alleged debts owed by BYJU to the BCCI and Paytm’s desire to switch the Indian Cricket Team’s title sponsorship from Paytm to Mastercard.
While BCCI denied the claims of BYJU’s owing it any money, it did not deny the Paytm part of the news. However, who the source was is yet to be known and BCCI has not shown any intentions if it wishes to investigate the matter further. BCCI. In an interview to the Times of India, a BCCI official said, “At a time when the BCCI wants the Supreme Court to look at it as a body that functions as per the constitution and is clear of any wrongdoing, such news reports don’t help.”
It must be noted that BYJU’s jersey sponsorship contract with the BCCI ended earlier this year in March. However, both the parties have agreed to an extension of the contract with a 10 percent increment but the documentation for the same is still pending.
