BCCI refuses to budge, says can't make exceptions for Sahara

Zeenews Sports Bureau

Chennai: Chennai: The stalemate between BCCI and Sahara continues as the board has refused to make any exceptions for its demands even after spending three hours of deliberation at its Working Committee meeting on Monday. BCCI president N Srinivasan has said that the board is not ready to make an exception for Sahara’s demand and they have communicated their decision to the corporate gian “BCCI has responded positively within the framework of its rule. It is not possible to create an exception because observation of the regulations is important for the integrity of the league.” Srinivasan said while addressing a press conference in Chennai on Monday. "Issues that had to be decided were placed before the committee and we have conveyed the response from the working committee to Sahara and we hope the response would be favourable," he said. Without revealing the specifics of the meeting, Srinivasan said that as per the rules Sahara’s Pune Warriors can seek a replacement for Yuvraj Singh. “Issues that were raised by Sahara were placed before the working committee today and without going into the specifics of the decision taken during the meeting, I would say that the issues are private and would not like to discuss them in public. We have communicated them to Sahara and are waiting for their response” "One of it was with regards to the number of matches played last year, issues surrounding the quantum of the bank guarantee that Sahara gave and of course and what they have mentioned in public about the composition of their team in the context of non-availability of some players," Srinivasan said. On Yuvraj Singh's issue he said “As per the rules, Sahara can have a replacement for Yuvraj Singh.” Sahara's other demand was a reduction in the bank guarantee considering the fact that the number of IPL matches had been reduced from 94 to 74. "The BCCI will not have objection to Sahara having a strategic partnership," Srinivasan said. Sahara had signed a renewed sponsorship agreement with the BCCI on July 1, 2010 till December 31, 2013 and was paying Rs. 3.34 crore per Test match, one-day international and Twenty20 International under the new terms. The deal is said to be worth Rs. 532 crore. Sahara entered the IPL bandwagon last year by buying Pune Warriors for Rs. 1702 crore, making it the costliest franchise in the Twenty20 event. The BCCI stands to lose close to Rs 2000 crore if no solution is found. However, the Board can find another sponsor to neutralise the losses. Srinivasan said finding sponsors is not a problem for the cash-rich Board. "Sponsors are not going away. In any contractual arrangement you will have to provide the scope for change. BCCI has not lost money. For the properties we have, we have adequate sponsors. We have problems with a sponsor, we have shown we will walk that extra mile to address them," he said. Sahara's other demand was a reduction in the bank guarantee considering the fact that the number of IPL matches had been reduced from 94 to 74. BCCI has placed the ball firmly in the court of Sahara, leaving them to take the final call. With PTI inputs