By ASHWIN PINTO
Indiantelevision.com Team

(2 December 2009 2:30 pm)

MUMBAI: In the event of not finding a new team sponsor, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Wednesday announced the extension of its contract with Sahara India Pariwar for another six months.

The Sahara deal, which would have come to a close on 31 December, will now run through 31 June 2010. They will continue to pay the same price of Rs 20 million per match.

A source says that the BCCI's marketing committee was expecting a Middle East telecom company would bid at the price of Rs 30 million a match. However the company decided against it and as a result the BCCI was left with egg on its face.

Meanwhile, the rights for on-ground sponsorship with World Sport Group (WSG) expires on 31 March 2010.

According to sources, WSG tried to renew the deal without going through a tender process. But they were offering a much lesser value than they are currently paying, prompting BCCI to think in terms of going through a tender process.

WSG, which pays Rs 31 million per match, proposed a rate of Rs 25 million for the extension. BCCI declined the offer and will invite tenders to decide the new on-ground sponsor.

"The market realities are different now. WSG's offer was around 10 per cent more in terms of the total outlay as there are more games. Per match, though, the offer was less. After the IPL the interest in Test and ODI cricket has gone down to an extent. The IPL already takes out a big chunk of sponsorship money from the market. Look at what has happened with the team sponsorship rights," says a source close to the development.

Meanwhile, the BCCI Marketing Committee declared that a fresh tender would be issued, inviting bids for a new team sponsor before the expiry of the extension period given to Sahara.

The BCCI has also decided to sell the title and ground rights for the two Twenty20 international matches against Sri Lanka to WSG at the rate of Rs 31.5 million per match.

The cricket board also said that any party that strikes a deal with it or the Indian Premier League (IPL) will have to submit a bank guarantee for the full value of the deal with immediate effect. This includes Multi Screen Media for IPL telecast rights and Entertainment Sports Direct (ESD) which won the IPL theatrical rights.

The BCCI has clearly learnt from past experience. A couple of years ago, Zee had pulled out of its deal for overseas cricket. A few years back, Percept had pulled out of its deal for an awards show. To protect its interests, the BCCI has decided on this move.