MUMBAI: Sahara Group on Saturday defended its decision to snap sponsorship ties with the Cricket Board and withdraw from the IPL, saying the relationship between the two has become so strained that it could not be possible to continue any longer.
"The decision we took to end ties was not a bad one at all. We had enough of it. Any relationship does not break on one single issue only. We had a long relationship. It has to do with many issues and has happened continuously," Sahara Group chief Subroto Roy told a press conference.
"There were so many genuine things we had but they (BCCI) did not give heed to such a small thing like opening the bid. They did not open the bid (when Sahara had submitted its bid for the first time). Rules were broken for other teams but we were not given natural justice," he said.
Roy said Sahara had approached the BCCI to settle the issues through arbitration and it had even proposed an arbitrator but the Cricket Board was not interested.
"We even approached the BCCI for arbitration and even proposed the name of the arbitrator," said Roy.
Roy said considering the number of matches reduced from the originally-proposed 94, Pune Warriors paid 25 per cent more money to the Cricket Board for owning the franchisee.
According to top sources, the main bone of contention is on Sahara's marquee player in the IPL 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 USD 1.8 million on the batsman be added to their overall purse for the players auction but the request was turned down.
The BCCI, on its part, stuck to the rule book though it was prepared to have talks with Sahara to resolve the issue.
"We understand that Sahara Adventure Sports Limited has issued a statement in which it indicates an intention to withdraw from its involvement in Indian cricket, including as regards the Indian Premier League. We intend to contact Sahara Adventure Sports Limited as soon as practicable to clarify its intentions," BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement.
"During the last few days Sahara Adventure Sports Limited has requested that IPL vary its Player Regulations by allowing it to increase its Auction Purse from USD 1.6m to USD 3.4m in light of Yuvraj Singh's unfortunate illness", Jagdale said.
The Board said Sahara could have picked a player during the transfer window after the auction instead of asking for bending of rules.
"The rules are very clear and are consistent with previous seasons -- Sahara Adventure Sports Limited may take a replacement following the 2012 Auction," Jagdale said.
Sahara said it was severing ties with BCCI with a "heavy heart" after sponsoring Indian cricket for 11 years.
"It was an emotional decision for us to start this sponsorship but our emotions were never appreciated and many genuine situations were not given due consideration at all," Sahara said in a statement.
Source:TOI
