MUMBAI: With its deal with Sahara for sponsorship of the Indian team coming to an end next month, the BCCI has floated a tender inviting bids from various companies.

The bid is for sponsoring four teams - men‘s, women‘s, India A Team and India Under 19 Team.
 
The bid document is available for a non-refundable fee of Rs 500,000.

The notice requires all bidders to satisfy the eligibility criteria laid down by the board. The BCCI has reserved the right to cancel or amend the entire bidding process at any stage and to reject any and/or all bids without providing any reasons, including calling for a re-tender.
 
Last year, the BCCI had to persuade Sahara to extend its sponsorship deal after its tender found no takers due to a difficult economic environment.

The BCCI had quoted a huge base price. The board sought Rs 30 million each for Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 played in the next four years. India will play nearly 170 international matches in the next four years and the BCCI was looking to raise a minimum of Rs 5 billion. 
 
Whether Sahara will bid for the sponsorship, is a big question mark, as it is already making a substantial investment in its IPL franchise, Pune Warriors.

Sahara had paid Rs 4 billion for the current deal.