Sahara Pune Warriors Pull out of IPL, Sponsor to End National Team Partnership

The Sahara Pune Warriors withdrew from the Indian Premier League (IPL) today after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) encashed their bank guarantee after the team fail to pay their full franchise fee.

The bank guarantee was worth around $33 million. A BCCI official confirmed to the Times of India that Sahara had made a part payment towards their franchise fee but missed the deadline to pay the balance.

The franchise has demanded a reduction in the franchise fee after the BCCI refused an added purse in the absence of Yuvraj Singh and reduced the number of matches per season.

In a statement the Sahara Group said: “We will not keep the IPL franchise even if the entire franchisee fee is waved off. It is the firm and final decision of Sahara to withdraw from IPL.

“In 2010, allergist Sahara had bid 1700 crore for an IPL franchise on the basis of revenue calculated for 94 matches. It was tricky on the part of BCCI to put the number as 94 matches in the media to get a bigger amount, but we got 64 matches only.”

National team sponsorship pulled

Sahara have taken another step and decided to withdraw the sponsorship of the Indian cricket team after December 2013. BCCI now have until January 2014 to find a new sponsor.