IPL 2025: Champak robo dog in trouble as court case filed against BCCI and 'Champak' name, Here’s the full story

The Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) has been thrashed with a legal notice for naming their robot dog Champak, which has sparked a legal battle between the board and Delhi Press Patra Prakashan, the publisher of 31 magazines in nine languages, including a popular children’s magazine, ''Champak.' BCCI is accused of copyright infringement in the Delhi press. A hearing date was also conducted in the Delhi High Court, a matter yet to be solved. 

According to a media report, Advocate Amit Gupta, from the Delhi Press, in his petition has said, "AI tool” was a clear infringement of the publisher’s registered trademark. "This AI tool [robotic dog] has been named Champak. The IPL has been going on. The product was introduced earlier, but it was named later on April 23, purportedly based on fan voting." 

BCCI has introduced this AI-driven robot dog during the ongoing IPL 2025 season to enhance the viewer's experience. The dog was first introduced on April 13 at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium when Delhi Capitals faced Mumbai Indians. From then, the robot dog has been an integral part of the IPL broadcasting scene. People can spot the dog on the pitch during the toss and then at the sideline for the rest of the match. Cricketers have also been spotted getting friendly with the robot dog. 

Read More: IPL 2025: What has gone wrong for CSK this season?

J Sai Deepak, the advocate representing the Indian cricket board at the Delhi High Court, informed the court that the dog's name has nothing to do with the magazine name. Robot dog's name is rather inspired by a television character Champaklal Jayantilal, an infamous figure of Gada Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, played by Amit Bhatt. 

We asked and you answered ✍️

Based on fan votes, we present 'Champak' - the newest member of our family 🗳🥳#TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/D2x1o8FeDR

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 20, 2025

Court pointed out the name 'Chiku'

Another interesting fact is that the 'Champak' magazine has a character named Chiku, and Virat Kohli's nickname is also Chiku. So the Delhi High Court asked the Delhi Press why they did not point out the matter. 

In response, Gupta said that Virat Kohli having the same nickname as one of their characters did not harm them in a commercial way, unlike the robot dog. The next hearing will be on July 9.