MUMBAI:The controversies at the very popular global cricket and cash-rich the Indian Premier League (IPL) continue. Following the spot fixing controversy last week, now it is the turn of one of the franchisees Pune Warriors to pull out of the IPL completely. The multibillion dollar Sahara India group, (whose promoter Subrata Roy is currently battling Sebi and its allegations of alleged fraud) which owned the franchise, announced that it was snapping its association with the IPL. It took this decision following the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) insistence on encashing Sahara?s bank guarantee after it failed to pay the franchise fee for this year?s edition of the IPL.

Sahara had bought the franchise for a huge Rs 1,700 crore back for 10 years in 2010 and had later asked that the franchisee fee be trimmed as the number of matches had come down from the 94 promised to 64 only.
 
While announcing its withdrawal from the IPL, it said that it was disgusted by the BCCI?s attitude towards it and will not rejoin the league even if the entire franchise fee was waived.

In a statement the company said, "It is a firm and final decision of Sahara to withdraw from IPL."

"In 2010, Sahara had bid Rs 1,700 crore for the IPL franchise on the basis of revenue calculation on 94 matches. It was tricky on the part of BCCI to put the number in media as 94 matches for getting bigger amount. But we got 64 matches only".

Sahara claimed that the BCCI turned a deaf ear to its pleadings for arbitration and reducing the franchise fee.

"We and Kochi Team immediately protested and requested BCCI to reduce the bid price proportionately for a viable IPL proposition. Nothing was heard. We waited with confidence that such a sports body should have sportsmanship spirit."

"We continuously requested BCCI for arbitration from June 2011. But BCCI is only concerned about money and not about the genuine interests of the franchisee. Thus, (when) we could not penetrate BCCI?s deaf ears, we announced our withdrawal in February 2012," it added.

However Sahara will continue to sponsor the Indian cricket team. "There is a very strong urge in us to withdraw from the Indian Cricket Team Sponsorship from today only. But, interest of the players will suffer if we do so."

"We share an excellent relationship with the players and will not want such dedicated and good human beings who serve the country so committed to get harmed financially due to unsporting attitude of BCCI," the Group said.

"So we have given time to BCCI to get the new sponsorship in place from January 2014, as we will continue the national team?s sponsorship only up to December 2013 that?s the expiry date of the present agreement."

The group, however, assured the players and the stakeholders that their dues would be cleared in time.
 
"Sahara assures its players and stakeholders that their Fees and other rightfully due payments will be protected and under no circumstances will they suffer.

"Sahara also assures its sponsors and other supporters who have shown faith in us that their obligations have and will be fulfilled and there will be no compromise on their status or rights," it said.

It may be recalled that Sahara had threatened to pull out earlier over the same issue in 2010 but was persuaded to stay on after Shah Rukh Khan had intervened. With this the two franchises that had arrived around two years ago - Pune and Kochi are gone.

The IPL for now is back to being an eight team affair.
Former commissioner and creator of the IPL Lalit Modi was quite acerbic about the BCCI?s attitude on Twitter.

Tweeted he: "A year ago I had said that Sahara would pull out from the IPL and Indian cricket. BCCI high-handedness is the issue like I said. Sahara is right in doing what they are doing. Sahara did more for Indian cricket than anyone else. If you don?t treat franchisees equal, this is bound to happen. Sahara paid $37 million a year and a new Hyderabad to pay just a few million dollars a year ? off (sic) course one will smell something."