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Sahara pulls out of IPL, withdraws sponsorship of Team India, Pune Warriors
In a surprise development, the Indian cricket team's longtime sponsor Sahara India today ended financial ties with the BCCI and also pulled out of the IPL by withdrawing from Pune Warriors' ownership just hours before the players' auction.
"We are withdrawing from all cricket under BCCI," Sahara has said in a statement.
Sahara, which has been the team sponsor for 11 years, signed a renewed agreement with the BCCI on July 1, 2010 till December 31, 2013. Sahara was paying Rs 3.34 crore per Test match, one-day international and Twenty20 International under the new terms.
"We really feel such one-sided emotional relationship cannot be dragged on any further." Sahara, however, added that it it will continue to pay sponsorship money till BCCI finds a new sponsor.
Sahara has requested the BCCI to pass on Pune Warriors team to some other interested party immediately.
Sahara, which entered the cash-rich IPL bandwagon last year along with the now-disbanded Kochi Tuskers Kerala, complained that several requests put forth by it with regards to players and the number of matches were not accepted by the BCCI.
"Our first entry into IPL was thwarted in 2008 when we were disqualified, owing to a small technicality on the whims and fancies of BCCI. Yet our Bid was not opened," the statement said.
"Last year, Sahara entered the IPL on the basis of information in the media and everywhere else that 94 matches will be played among 10 teams. The bid price was accordingly calculated, but only 74 matches were played. We are still pursuing continuously with the BCCI to refund the extra bid money proportionately. It has been denied on the basis of strict rules," said Sahara.
In the press release Sahara has blamed BCCI responsible for the split, adding that there were differences between the two over replacement for Yuvraj Singh.
Sahara's marquee player in the IPL is skipper Yuvraj Singh, who is currently recovering from tumour in the lungs. His unavailability in the IPL this season prompted Sahara to ask the BCCI that the price of the batsman be added to their overall purse for the players auction but the request was turned down.
"Yuvraj Singh, who is truly like one of our family members, is, quite unfortunately, passing through a bad phase health wise, undergoing treatment for critical illness, overseas. Our duty is to take care of him, so Sahara has decided to pay him his full fee this year with condition as a Guardian that his priority should be health care and he should not play till he has fully recovered," the company stated.
"Again, we have been denied on the basis of the rule book. Yet again, a case of being denied natural justice. We think this peculiar situation of Shri Yuvraj Singh is silent in the rule book because it probably talks only about players
who are temporarily injured."
The company's decision to opt out of comes on the day when 144 players from 11 countries go under the hammer for the IPL 2012 auction.
Sahara is apparently also unhappy with the fact that Royal Challengers Bangalore were allowed to buy replacement player Chris Gayle this season.
"The manner in which Gayle was bought was not liked by many franchises including Sahara," a Sahara official said on condition of anonymity.
Sahara said even during the Champions League Twenty20, an injury-plagued Mumbai Indians were allowed to field an extra foreign player due to the crisis in the team but such gestures were never extended to Pune Warriors. "Incidentally, once during the Champions League, one of the Indian IPL teams had a lot of injured players so they were rightly, out of natural justice, allowed to break the rules and take one extra foreign player. We appreciated this natural justice," it said.
But the company said that it would pay its sponsorship free for the next few months giving time to the BCCI to find a new sponsor. It also promised to pay the dues of its IPL players and staff.
"We don't want to give any problem to the BCCI and we also feel that the players should not suffer. BCCI will definitely take 2-4 months to get a new sponsor and we will continue paying the sponsorship money till then," it said.
"All other IPL team players, coaches and other such associates will definitely get their due this year, in case they do not get a chance to play," it said.
Detailing what it felt were the BCCI's attempts at slighting the company, Sahara was also unhappy about the fact that its logo was removed from the team shirt during the 2003 World Cup and a couple of other tournaments on directives of the ICC.
In a surprise development, the Indian cricket team's longtime sponsor Sahara India today ended financial ties with the BCCI and also pulled out of the IPL by withdrawing from Pune Warriors' ownership just hours before the players' auction.
"We are withdrawing from all cricket under BCCI," Sahara has said in a statement.
Sahara, which has been the team sponsor for 11 years, signed a renewed agreement with the BCCI on July 1, 2010 till December 31, 2013. Sahara was paying Rs 3.34 crore per Test match, one-day international and Twenty20 International under the new terms.
"We really feel such one-sided emotional relationship cannot be dragged on any further." Sahara, however, added that it it will continue to pay sponsorship money till BCCI finds a new sponsor.
Sahara has requested the BCCI to pass on Pune Warriors team to some other interested party immediately.
Sahara, which entered the cash-rich IPL bandwagon last year along with the now-disbanded Kochi Tuskers Kerala, complained that several requests put forth by it with regards to players and the number of matches were not accepted by the BCCI.
"Our first entry into IPL was thwarted in 2008 when we were disqualified, owing to a small technicality on the whims and fancies of BCCI. Yet our Bid was not opened," the statement said.
"Last year, Sahara entered the IPL on the basis of information in the media and everywhere else that 94 matches will be played among 10 teams. The bid price was accordingly calculated, but only 74 matches were played. We are still pursuing continuously with the BCCI to refund the extra bid money proportionately. It has been denied on the basis of strict rules," said Sahara.
In the press release Sahara has blamed BCCI responsible for the split, adding that there were differences between the two over replacement for Yuvraj Singh.
Sahara's marquee player in the IPL is skipper Yuvraj Singh, who is currently recovering from tumour in the lungs. His unavailability in the IPL this season prompted Sahara to ask the BCCI that the price of the batsman be added to their overall purse for the players auction but the request was turned down.
"Yuvraj Singh, who is truly like one of our family members, is, quite unfortunately, passing through a bad phase health wise, undergoing treatment for critical illness, overseas. Our duty is to take care of him, so Sahara has decided to pay him his full fee this year with condition as a Guardian that his priority should be health care and he should not play till he has fully recovered," the company stated.
"Again, we have been denied on the basis of the rule book. Yet again, a case of being denied natural justice. We think this peculiar situation of Shri Yuvraj Singh is silent in the rule book because it probably talks only about players
who are temporarily injured."
The company's decision to opt out of comes on the day when 144 players from 11 countries go under the hammer for the IPL 2012 auction.
Sahara is apparently also unhappy with the fact that Royal Challengers Bangalore were allowed to buy replacement player Chris Gayle this season.
"The manner in which Gayle was bought was not liked by many franchises including Sahara," a Sahara official said on condition of anonymity.
Sahara said even during the Champions League Twenty20, an injury-plagued Mumbai Indians were allowed to field an extra foreign player due to the crisis in the team but such gestures were never extended to Pune Warriors. "Incidentally, once during the Champions League, one of the Indian IPL teams had a lot of injured players so they were rightly, out of natural justice, allowed to break the rules and take one extra foreign player. We appreciated this natural justice," it said.
But the company said that it would pay its sponsorship free for the next few months giving time to the BCCI to find a new sponsor. It also promised to pay the dues of its IPL players and staff.
"We don't want to give any problem to the BCCI and we also feel that the players should not suffer. BCCI will definitely take 2-4 months to get a new sponsor and we will continue paying the sponsorship money till then," it said.
"All other IPL team players, coaches and other such associates will definitely get their due this year, in case they do not get a chance to play," it said.
Detailing what it felt were the BCCI's attempts at slighting the company, Sahara was also unhappy about the fact that its logo was removed from the team shirt during the 2003 World Cup and a couple of other tournaments on directives of the ICC.
pay that for the whole series in Hockey and they will be more happy lol
