Commitment issues
Sahara boss slams Srinivasan, says BCCI chief does not keep his word
Blaming N Srinivasan for the withdrawal of his company's sponsorship of the Indian team, Sahara chief Subrato Roy said the BCCI president "does not keep on his commitments".
"We had a very good association with the BCCI in the past and had friendly relation with it. We used to work together.
"But the present president (Srinivasan) has a different mindset and does not keep on his commitments... Has a lot of false ego. So we are not keen on continuing with the relationship," Roy said reporters.
It had withdrawn its franchise Pune Warriors from the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to differences with the board.
Roy also attacked Srinivasan over IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) former team principal and son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan for his alleged involvement in betting and fixing.
"The case is on his team but nothing has happened. Had the principal of any other team been involved in something, that team would have been scrapped by now. But that is not happening. We on't want to work in that environment," said Roy.
The company's sponsorship of the Indian cricket team is officially expiring in December.
To a query, he said, "I have no plans to continue with the BCCI sponsorship. But old people and some players are saying to continue," he said.
Roy also attacked Srinivasan over IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) former team principal and son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan for his alleged involvement in betting and fixing.
"The case is on his team but nothing has happened. Had the principal of any other team been involved in something, that team would have been scrapped by now. But that is not happening. So we don't want to work in that environment," said Roy.
Roy also said the Indian cricketers though would "come after me" as they do not want any other company's name on their jerseys.
"I have been told that some BCCI officials and Indian cricketers would attack me for not continuing the deal," he said with a chuckle.
Regarding Pune Warriors' termination, Roy blamed BCCI's "arbitrary" reduction in the total number of IPL matches from that stipulated originally.
"They had said that 94 matches will be held every season but then arbitrarily reduced the number to 74. We had made the bid for the IPL franchise based on the representations of BCCI which were false," Roy said, adding that the market value of the IPL as well as sponsorship value of the Indian team will drastically come down after his company's departure.