MUMBAI: In a development that will surely have deep implications, Sahara Group has announced its withdrawal from all cricketing activities including Team Indian sponsorship and IPL franchise Pune Warriors India.

The announcement was made before the commencement of the IPL player?s auction in which the Pune Warriors India did not participate.

Sahara has given several reasons for its decision to opt out of cricket but the main trigger is believed to be the BCCI?s decision to disallow the franchise to use the price of Yuvraj Singh, who has been ruled out of IPL season 5.0, in today?s auction purse.

It also pointed out that under similar circumstances, the BCCI promoted Champions League T20 rules were bended for Mumbai Indians when they were allowed to bring in replacements for their injured players. Sahara feels that this peculiar situation of Singh is silent in the rule book because it probably talks only about players who are temporarily injured.

"Incidentally, once during the Champion?s League tournament, one of the Indian IPL teams had a lot of injured players so they were rightly, out of natural justice, allowed to break the rules and take one extra foreign player. We appreciated this natural justice," Sahara said in statement.

Sahara also noted that its first entry into IPL was thwarted in 2008 when it was disqualified, owing to a small technicality on the whims and fancies of BCCI.

It further pointed out that when the company had bought the Pune franchise for $370 million, it was promised that there would be 94 matches in the IPL which was later reduced to 74 matches. Despite reducing the number of matches, the BCCI did not reduce franchise fee.

"We are still pursuing continuously with the BCCI to refund the extra bid money proportionately. It has been denied on the basis of strict rules," it added.

Sahara was also unhappy with the fact that BCCI did not go for an open auction which did not give the two new franchises - Pune and Kochi - a level playing field.

"In the interest of the tournament, we repeatedly tried our best to pursue the BCCI for open auction of all players so that we achieve level playing field and all teams are equally balanced from the quality players? point of view. Again, as per BCCI?s strict rules it was denied and again, we were deprived of natural justice. 12 of the best players were retained by the existing teams then," the statement averred.

On the sponsorship front, it says that will continue for a few months as the BCCI will take time to find another sponsor.

Sahara?s fresh four-year sponsorship contract for the national team, pegged at $115 million, runs through to December 2013.

"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," the statement said.

Meanwhile, former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has blamed BCCI president N Srinivasan?s arrogant style of functioning for the current mess in IPL Sahara Group?s pulling out of the league.

"Sahara termination - shows how unhappy the major sponsor and franchise owner is with the way BCCI deals with its partners. This is really a sad day. Sahara has been sports biggest supporter and pillar," Modi wrote on his twitter page.

"It?s a black day for Indian Cricket. All due to One ego maniac. Wonder how we allow that to continue. It will ruin cricket completely," read another tweet.

"All I can say is that whenever sports was in trouble - we could always count on Sahara being there. They were one solid company one could always bank on coming thru," he added.

"When another Team owner is a state association president, BCCI president and just showed that he controls ICC thru his clout. And does things only in favour of himself. This was bound to happen."

Laying the blame of shunning BCCI sponsors and partners at Srinivasan?s door, Modi said the current president had no moral authority to continue.

"BCCI President needs to go. He has no concept of taking people along. The Fans, Players, Sponsors, Franchisee owners, are the people who make us what we are. And they need to be listened too. Not shunned away," he added.

"BCCI has made all posts redundant in BCCI and want to do the same in ICC. They want only one door to be opened for cricket. That door has a Plate on it - N Srinivasan. Owner CSK, president TNCA, President BCCI, controller ICC," he added.

MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction, which will see 183 players from countries like England being auctioned to franchises, will take place in Bangalore on 4 February.

The proceedings, to start at 11 am, will air live on Max, the official broadcaster of the IPL.

The IPL Governing Council has shortlisted 183 players for the upcoming auction, including 25 Zimbabweans. England off spinner Graeme Swann has the highest reserve price of $400,000.
 
James Anderson and Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson were placed in the $300,000 bracket. Former Australian spinners Brad Hogg and Stuart MacGill and former Pakistan all rounder Azhar Mahmood have attracted reserve prices of $100,000.

The auction will be conducted by Richard Madley, a professional auctioneer from England who has conducted each of the previous IPL player auctions.

IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said, ?Fans of the sport, based in India and elsewhere, will be following the happenings with a lot of interest. The auction sets the stage for what promises to be an absorbing fifth season of the tournament. The developments during the first trading window have given us an idea of the varied pproaches that the teams have adopted for the forthcoming season. The Auction will give us a deeper insight into the same.?

The opening match of IPL 2012 will take place on 4 April in Chennai.

MUMBAI: IPL?s franchise from Pune, Pune Warriors, has retained Sourav Ganguly, who was included in last year?s squad as an injury replacement.

Pune Warriors director Abhijit Sarkar said, "We are privileged to have a player of Sourav Ganguly?s calibre in our squad. He has been one of India?s greatest and most inspirational cricketers. We have no doubt that his presence in the team will boost the team?s prospects in the IPL, and motivate the boys to excel themselves."

Ganguly has played with Shah Rukh Khan?s Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL?s first three editions. Last year, he signed up with Pune Warriors after the start of the 2011 edition of the tournament.

Kings XI Punjab has signed David Miller, the middle-order batsman from South Africa, for the next two seasons.

MUMBAI: West Indian opener Chris Gayle has joined IPL franchise Royal challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the 2011 IPL as a replacement for Dirk Nannes. He was the recipient of the Orange Cap for being the highest scorer in IPL 2011.

Gayle also played for RCB in the CLT20 2011. He was a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three editions of the IPL.

Royal Challengers Sports director Sidhartha Mallya said, "We are delighted to make Chris Gayle a permanent member of our IPL squad. He is one of the best batsmen in the world. His form helped us qualify for the final of the 2011 edition of the tournament. We are confident that with players like him in our side, we will take the extra step this season, and win our maiden IPL title".

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has called upon all international players attached to Kochi Tuskers to register a case against the defunct IPL team to recover their pending fees.

Since the players? contracts are between them and the franchisees, the BCCI has asked the cricketers to move against the team. As for Indian cricketers who played for Kochi, they have got 65 per cent of their salaries, it is learnt.

International cricketers who played for Kochi in the last season include Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, Brendon McCullum and Steven Smith. Earlier, these players were given verbal commitment from the IPL that the Board would protect the players? right, but things went topsy turvy.

It may be noted that the BCCI had terminated Kochi?s contract during its September AGM for breaching terms of agreement. The board also encashed the team?s bank guarantee of Rs 1.56 billion.