TheSportsCampus

The Sahara India Pariwar dropped a major bombshell on the struggling spectre of Indian cricket by announcing its decision to withdraw sponsorship of the national side and also pull out from sponsoring IPL side Pune Warriors. The timing of the announcement could not have been better orchestrated with the Sahara Big Wigs failing to turn up for Season 5 Player Auction, and instead issuing a press release on its eve explaining its decision.

The Sahara India Group said, "We really feel such one-sided emotional relationship cannot be dragged any further. We are withdrawing from all cricket under BCCI. However, we don't want to give any problem to the BCCI and we also feel that the players should not suffer. BCCI will definitely take 2-4 months to get a new sponsor and we will continue paying the sponsorship money till then. All other IPL team players, coaches and other such associates will definitely get their due this year, in case they do not get a chance to play."

"For this, our humble request once again to the BCCI is that through the right process and with strict rules/regulations, they should pass on our team to some other interested party immediately. We expect at least this much of our humble request will kindly be accepted after 12 years of our productive relationship with the BCCI."

A detailed study of the press release issued by Sahara makes it evidently clear that the straw that broke the camel's back was the BCCI / IPL Governing Council's refusal to allow the team to increase their allocation of funds due to the unavailability of Pune's Marquee player Yuvraj Singh, who is recovering from a non-malignant tumour.

However, in an interview once again perfectly staged to coincide with the end of the IPL Auction, Sahara Group Chairman Subrata Roy vehemently denied that the BCCI's position on Yuvraj was the reason for their withdrawl, but instead highlighted a series of disagreements that have taken place over the years, not least of all was the refusal of the BCCI to allow the Sahara Group in the inaugural edition of the IPL due to a technical glitch in their application. Roy stated that for a Group which had sponsored Indian cricket for so many years and had stood by the team through thick and thin, such behaviour on the part of the BCCI was unacceptable.

In the end that matter ultimately came down to the manner in which the BCCI functions, as an autocratic body which considers itself above all reproach. While Indian cricket continues to go through incredible crests and troughs over the last year and a bit, one can't help but wonder if the BCCI is running out of friends.

Cricketers Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid have had recent issues with the Governing Body, while the Indian Sports Ministry appears to be perpertually at war with the board over concerns with financial transparency.

While there is no doubt that the BCCI should quite easily manage to find a new sponsor for Team India, it appears for all practical purposes that only someone who is prepared to lose big this season would take a chance with the Pune Warriors.

In the long term though, it is about time the BCCI realizes that if the entire cricketing community is having problems with it, the solutions to those problems surely lie within.