Sahara will not sponsor team India as long as N Srinivasan stays as its chief, Sahara chief Subrata Roy told a news channel
Having pulled out its franchise Pune Warriors from the Indian Premier League (IPL), Sahara chief Subrata Roy fired another salvo saying he would immediately stop sponsoring the Indian team if N. Srinivasan continues to be the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
"Person like Srinivasan does not know how to run cricket. Sahara will not sponsor team India as long as N Srinivasan stays as its chief," Roy was quoted as saying by a TV channel.
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Roy said BCCI's style of functioning was disgusting, irritating and frustrating.
Sahara India Parivar Managing Director and Chairman,u00a0Subrata Roy Sahara. File Picu00a0
The BCCI and Sahara have been at loggerheads over the IPL franchise fee. Sahara's repeated requests the BCCI to revise its franchise fees - $370 million over 10 years, the highest in the IPL - was never entertained. They had to pay Rs.120 crore (around $21.6 million) this year before the start of the season but after they failed to do so, the BCCI encashed the bank guarantee.
An angry Sahara pulled out Pune Warriors from the IPL and also said that it would not renew its sponsorship of the Indian cricket team after December.
Roy said BCCI didn't even have courtesy to reply to Sahara's letter.
"The board was not even interested in talking to us to sort out differences. And we didn't have any choice than to pull out of the IPL," said Roy.
"It's really unfair, sad, irritating and disgusting. The last 13-14 years we had enjoyed such a harmonious relationship (with BCCI) till Shashank Manohar was there. But after that it is so disgusting," said Roy, the owner of the Pune Warriors franchise which has pulled out of the IPL over financial issues with the BCCI.
u00a0"We enjoyed such a good relation with BCCI till Shashank Manohar was there."
Asked whether he will reconsider his decision to sponsor the Indian cricket team if Srinivasan is not at the helm, the Sahara chief said, "I will say yes to it."
'CSK should be scrapped from IPL immediately'
An upset Subrato Roy Sahara demanded that Chennai Super Kings, which is embroiled in the spot-fixing scandal, should be "scrapped immediately" from the the T20 league.
Questioning Srinivasan's conflict of interest in the game, Roy said CSK's contract should be terminated immediately in the wake of franchise owner Gurunath Meiyappan's name cropping up in the spot-fixing scandal.
"If a franchise is involved in betting their contract should immediately be scrapped. If a owner is involved in betting it's wrong," he said.
"People who rule sports bodies, National Sports Federations (NSFs) should be clear. A rule should be made that NSFs should be governed by sportspersons." u00a0
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