Sahara group and BCCI standoff has finally been mitigated, with both
parties reaching compromise on Thursday. Sahara group emerged winner claiming that most of its demands were met by the BCCI and will continue to
sponsor the Indian cricket team and also own the Pune Warriors team during the fifth season of IPL this year.
The auction window for Pune Warriors is being reactivated and the trading
window will be extended from the 17th to 29th February. This
window refers to the period during which players can be transferred across teams. IPL chairman and Congress MP Rajiv Shukla informed NDTV that
the Kolkata Knight Riders co owner and bollywood superstar, Shah
Rukh Khan proved a key mediator.
Earlier this month, Sahara,
the Indian cricket team's official sponsor for 11 years, announced separation of its ties with the BCCI, claiming that it was treated unjustly and the last straw proving to be the BCCI's refusal for Yuvraj Singh's price to be added to Pune Warriors' auction purse after the former's prolonged treatment for lung tumor and consecutive ruling out of this season of IPL.
Had Sahara walked out of the
deal, the Board's biggest headache will be to look for a new
team sponsor. Sahara have been contracted to pay the BCCI
approximately Rs 3.34 crore per match (Test, One day and T20's). Also, the IPL franchise Pune Warriors was bought by Sahara for Rs.1,702 crore, as the most expensive franchise in the league. In the worst case, the BCCI could be losing out on around Rs.2,234 crore.
Meanwhile, BCCI president, N. Srinivasan stressed that no rules would be
bent to accommodate the demands of Sahara but BCCI would be willing to
work within their framework to help the franchise.
At a time when there was a wait from all corners if things would start moving smoothly ahead of the IPL, the new deal comes as a sigh of relief. Let's hope that the new season brings a renewed spirit in the Pune Warriors camp and see if they can put up a challenge for the rest of the teams.
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