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indiantelevision.com Team
MUMBAI: In a high-stakes battle, Sahara and India?s cricket board Thursday came out with a compromise formula that would protect their commercial interests over the country?s most lucrative sports property.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) keeps alive the four-year sponsorship contract for the national team, pegged at $115 million, through to December 2013. It also gets to lock the Pune IPL franchise for $370 million, a price that may be hard to get in the current market scenario.
Sahara India Pariwar, on its part, can expect to get a franchisee fee reduction through arbitration and draw in an extra foreign player as a replacement for the ailing Yuvraj Singh, the team?s star player.
"BCCI couldn?t have found a sponsor for the Indian team at that price. Even the IPL franchise would have gone for lower in case of a fresh bid. The other option would have been to go ahead with an eight-team format, a heavy financial loss. On both the sponsorship and the franchisee fronts, the board would have had to take a hit. For Sahara, exiting from the IPL would have meant writing off its initial investments. Besides, the sponsorship of the national cricket team gives the group brand a tremendous presence which they couldn?t have possibly got from other advertising vehicles," a media analyst said.
Sahara and BCCI agreed to bury their hatchet after a series of negotiations and hard talk, ending days of suspense and speculation. The IPL, which kicks off on 4 April, will, thus, see players from Pune Warriors India on the cricketing field.
Sahara has also consented to continue as the shirt sponsor of the India cricket team while at the same time keeping the exit door open by saying that it ?may want to exercise its right to assign the sponsorship as per the agreement?. Even if Sahara assigns the rights, BCCI would be protected the amount through the new sponsor.
As part of the settlement, the BCCI has agreed to extend the trading window till 29 February as against the original schedule of 17 February. The extended trading window will provide Pune Warriors India an opportunity to have successful negotiations with other franchises as it looks to strengthen its squad.
?To extend the trading window, which was due to close on Friday 17 February, until Wednesday 29 February 2012 to give Pune Warriors India the opportunity to have successful negotiations with other franchises as it looks to strengthen its squad,? Sahara chairman Subroto Roy and BCCI president N Srinivasan said in a joint statement issued along with Sahara.
The statement added, ?Sahara confirms that it will continue sponsorship of the Indian team. Sahara may want to exercise its right to assign the sponsorship as per the agreement. The franchise will also re-activate its auction purse so that it can take a number of players, subject to the squad composition regulations.?
The BCCI is also open to allowing Sahara to sign-up overseas players who were not in the auction register subject to the relevant player regulations and other franchises agreeing to the same thereby acceding to one of the key demand?s of the franchise which has been hit due to Yuvraj Singh?s absence.
?Notwithstanding the recent working committee decision rejecting 5 foreign players in the playing XI, in consideration of the exceptional circumstance and the non-availability of Mr. Yuvraj Singh, Sahara has offered to obtain the consent of all the franchises for the submission to the BCCI,? the statement averred.
BCCI and Sahara have also agreed to start the arbitration proceedings initiated by Sahara through appointment of an arbitrator to address Sahara?s claim for a reduction in franchise fee for 74 matches.
Sahara, which has committed $370 million for a period of 10 years, has been demanding a reduction in fee since the 94 matches that was promised during the signing of agreement has not been honoured as the matches have been decreased to 74 to accommodate ICC?s future tours programme.
Additionally, the BCCI does not have any problem with Sahara seeking a strategic partner in the Pune Warriors India franchise, subject to terms of the Franchise Agreement. Sahara has been for quite some time considering diluting stake to infuse capital.
The company?s request to furnish bank guarantee against the franchisee fee in two installments will also be considered by the BCCI at next available opportunity.
Furthermore, the BCCI has also acceded to Sahara?s request to hold one of the play-off matches in Pune, which was scheduled to be played in Bengaluru. The BCCI is in principle agreeable to host one of the Play Off in the new Pune stadium subject to the consent of RCB.
The right to host the Play Off matches is awarded to the finalists from previous edition, in this case Royal Challengers Bangalore. BCCI is in principle agreeable to host one of the Play Off in the new Pune stadium subject to the consent of RCB.
Meanwhile, welcoming BCCI?s gesture wherein most of the grievances of Sahara have been taken care off, the business conglomerate?s chairman Subroto Roy through a letter thanked the board and its members for helping in resolving the deadlock which began 4 February.
Besides thanking board members, Roy also acknowledged the role of former BCCI president Shashank Manohar and film star & KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan in helping to end the stalemate.
He also said that the cricket board will look into the request of having an open players auction wherein all the players will be put up for auction which will give level-playing field to all.
?Due to the policy of retention, a disparity in the player ability and corresponding payment structure is created. I genuinely appreciate BCCI, seeing their positive response and attitude, they have said that they would take up the issue seriously in the near future,? Roy asserted.
However, this may not be the end of it as much as one would like to believe, as one industry veteran points out. In fact, if anything it is the beginning of another round of hectic negotiations and back-room parleys between Sahara and other franchises with the BCCI playing the role of a ?facilitator? to bend its own rules.
And all it takes is just one franchise to say no to Sahara?s request and it will all be back to square one; the ball will again toss back to the BCCI?s court. In a nutshell, the BCCI has passed the buck to the franchises but it is most likely to come back to the board that is if it doesn?t pass through other franchises.
Asked if the reduction in franchise fee will cool down tempers, the industry observer was quick to add that there is a possibility of Kochi joining the fray and might as well take the BCCI to court, which will only add to IPL?s woes. However, the BCCI had terminated the franchisee contract with Kochi on the ground of late payment of fee.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala, whose franchise agreement was terminated last year, has already threatened BCCI with legal action if it is not reinstated and the reduction of Sahara?s franchise fee might end up giving more ammo to the beleaguered franchise.
Expect more drama and action in the coming days!
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