The business conglomerate, which acquired a 42.5% stake in Formula One team Force India for US$100 million in October, announced its decision to withdraw just hours before Saturday’s IPL player auction. Sahara has been the main sponsor of Indian cricket for 11 years and signed a renewed agreement with the BCCI through to the end of 2013 in July 2010. The agreement was worth $719,000 per international match and was a major factor in the BCCI’s reputation as world cricket’s richest organisation.

However, Sahara has become increasingly frustrated with the governance of Indian cricket and has cited numerous reasons for its withdrawal. It has pledged to pay its sponsorship fees to the BCCI for the coming few months, allowing it to find a new sponsor, while it will bankroll the Pune Warriors for the forthcoming IPL season. “After an 11-year journey as sponsors, we can say with surety that cricket has become very rich,” Sahara said in a statement. “Many rich people are there to support cricket with a strong will to do so. So, with absolute peace of mind we can exit from cricket under BCCI and are exiting with a heavy heart. It was an emotional decision for us to start this sponsorship but our emotions were never appreciated and many genuine situations were not given due consideration at all.”

Sahara bid $370 million to become owners of the IPL’s Pune franchise in 2010, with the team entering the 2011 season as one of two expansion clubs alongside Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The company has fought a long-running battle with the BCCI over player regulations and the match schedule for the IPL, while it has also been angered by the Board’s stance over its request to replace its star Indian player Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj is currently undergoing treatment for lung cancer in the United States and has been ruled out of this season’s IPL.

Sahara’s statement added: “Our first entry into IPL was thwarted in 2008 when we were disqualified, owing to a small technicality on the whims and fancies of BCCI. Yet our bid was not opened. Last year, Sahara entered the IPL on the basis of information in the media and everywhere else that 94 matches will be played among 10 teams. The bid price was accordingly calculated, but only 74 matches were played. 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. 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 of players' point of view. Again, as per BCCI's strict rules it was denied and again, we were deprived of natural justice.”

While Sahara’s complaints are mostly confined to the IPL, the company has also stated its dissatisfaction with the BCCI’s handling of its sponsorship rights covering the national team, mainly during International Cricket Council tournaments. Reacting to Saturday’s news, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla, who is also a senior member of the BCCI, said the Board had not received official notification of Sahara’s decision, adding that it could not bow to the demands of one company. Shukla told reporters: “It's unfortunate but we have not received any formal notice. But the show will go on and the marketing committee will take a decision. Dialogue will always continue. It would have been unfair on our part to accept their demands. It would be unfair to other franchises if we bend rules for one team.”