★-•- IPL 2012 -•-★ ► Starts on April 4 -•-★ ► Official Thread

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BCCI, Sahara to meet on weekend


BCCI and Sahara India Parivar are scheduled to meet this weekend, probably on February 12, to discuss the issues that led to Sahara withdrawing its sponsorship of the Indian team and ownership of the Pune Warriors IPL franchise.

Officials privy to the dialogue between the parties told ESPNcricinfo that the venue and time would be finalised on February 11. Chennai is the likely choice because of the BCCI working committee meeting there on February 13; Mumbai is the alternative.

"Yes, the discussions are on. We don't have a date [as] people are busy," a BCCI official said. Asked if Sahara would be happy to reverse their decision, the official said: "Don't worry about it, these issues will get sorted ... They will be back, no one is going anywhere"
The IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, who is also one of the BCCI vice-presidents, has been in frequent contact with Subrata Roy, Sahara's chairman. On February 4, Roy had said he was forced to end the relationship with the BCCI because of a "chain of displeasure" between the sponsors and the board. However, the BCCI president N Srinivasan expressed a desire to resolve the dispute, and Roy reciprocated saying he would be open to talks.

It is understood that on Thursday, the Sahara management asked the coaching staff to shortlist names of players the Warriors would like to buy from the other franchises during the ongoing trading window, which closes on March 4.

"The coaches have been asked to see what the options left to get the team balance correct are," a Sahara official told ESPNcricinfo.

According to a Sahara source, they are happy with the strength of the present Warriors squad, but they missed out on bolstering the middle-order void caused by Yuvraj Singh's unavailability due to illness.

If the IPL had allowed Sahara's request to add Yuvraj's cost ($1.8 million) to the auction purse ($2 million), the source said they could have gone all out for the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Vinay Kumar and may be even a wicketkeeper. The Australian wicketkeeper Tim Paine is injured and will not be available for the fifth season. Robin Uthappa, a part time keeper, is expected to keep wicket this season but Pune are on a lookout for a domestic glovesman.

"Now we will have to re-think our strategy, considering we did not participate in the auction," a Sahara source said.

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BCCI, Sahara likely to soften stance at meeting


Top officials of the BCCI and Sahara India will meet in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon over the dispute regarding the IPL Pune franchise, with all indications pointing to an amicable resolution. Both parties have, given the high stakes involved, softened their stance in the week since Sahara went public about its grievances with the Indian board and announced its pullout from the sponsorship of the Indian team and the ownership of the Pune Warriors franchise.


The BCCI is likely to be represented by N Srinivasan and Ajay Shirke, its president and treasurer, and Rajeev Shukla and Sundar Raman, chairman and chief executive of the IPL. Sahara chairman Subrata Roy will lead his side, with his son Sushanto expected to sit alongside him.


The meeting follows a week of top-level dialogue between officials from both sides seeking to work out possible openings for a solution. There are several issues to be sorted out, including the reduction in the number of IPL matches last season from 94 to 74; Roy said Sahara had paid $370 million for the franchise based on a 94-match season. Sahara's immediate point of dispute, though, concerns the IPL's refusal to allow it any concession in replacing Yuvraj Singh, who is being treated for cancer and is expected to miss the entire season. Sahara had wanted his $1.8 million salary added to its $1.6 million auction purse but that request was turned down.


Sahara insiders say Roy will ask the IPL to tweak its rules and allow the Warriors to field five foreigners, instead of the stipulated four - as was done for Mumbai Indians in the 2011 Champions League. However, it is unlikely to be acceptable to the BCCI, with rival franchises already making noises that it would be unfair to them. "Mumbai's case was extraordinary and everyone respected that, but if you now allow Sahara the same then in future there is a danger of this becoming a norm," said an official of one of the original eight franchises.


Instead, ESPNcricinfo understands, the IPL will allow the Warriors to buy players left unsold at the supplementary auction held in Bangalore on February 4. The IPL rules say franchises can pick unsold players only as a replacement for an injured player or in a medical emergency, but the rule could be relaxed to allow the Warrirors to utilise the $1.6 million purse.

It's unclear whether that will be acceptable to Sahara but crucially the company, which has a relatively long and close connection with Indian sport, has not closed all doors to cricket. In fact, as reported, the Warriors coaching staff have been asked to compile a list of players it could get on board during the IPL's third trading window, which ends on March 4.

The onus, though, seems to be on the BCCI, which has higher stakes in this issue. Already without a TV broadcast deal and unable to sell its internet rights, it cannot afford the embarrassment of being without a sponsor for the Indian team. The IPL, too, is in some flux; it has already lost one team - the Kochi franchise - and losing another in a relatively depressed financial market will not help advertisers and sponsors. That is believed to have forced board officials to admit they would have to soften their stand on some of the contentious issues. One top board official conceded its top brass needed to take the blame for the current impasse. "Things could have been handled and sorted out in good time as opposed to our approach, which is to allow it to build up into a fight.


"There is no provision in the IPL rules for someone who is suffering from cancer. The BCCI top brass was aware about Yuvraj's sickness for the last few months. Sahara were asking for a solution but if you keep neglecting a potential area of conflict, then it is bound to build up. So Sahara thought obviously enough is enough."

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No decisions yet on BCCI-Sahara row

The BCCI has decided to table the "outstanding issues" concerning the dispute with Sahara at the board's working committee meeting in Chennai on Monday. This was announced in a joint media statement issued by both parties at the end of their hour-long meeting in Mumbai on Sunday.

Though both BCCI president N Srinivasan and Sahara group chairman Subrata Roy did not divulge any details of the meeting, they smiledas they walked in front the media. Asked if he got the opportunity to express all his grievances with Srinivasan, Roy only said there was ample time for discussion.

"Sahara & BCCI met today and discussed all the outstanding issues and it was agreed that the subject will be further discussed in the BCCI Working Committee meeting tomorrow. The interaction was focussed on interest of Indian cricket, including IPL," read the joint statement issued under the name of Roy and Srinivasan.

The meeting was attended by senior officials from both sides. Accompanying Srinivasan on the board front were its secretary Sanjay Jagdale and its treasurer Ajay Shirke. Also present were IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla and Sundar Raman, the IPL CEO.

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