I Hate You (Like I Love You). Subrata Roy and the BCCI

Subrata Roy is unhappy. And he’s showing it. The founder and chairman of Sahara India Pariwar has taken on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) because of perceived injustices. But really, neither party wants to call it off.

Abhishek Raghunath
Updated: Feb 7, 2012 05:36:42 PM UTC

Subrata Roy is unhappy. And he’s showing it. The founder and chairman of Sahara India Pariwar has taken on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) because of perceived injustices. On Saturday, February 4, just as player auctions for the Indian Premier League were about to get underway, Sahara announced that they would be withdrawing their sponsorship for the national Indian cricket team. They also did not want be a part of the IPL, and decided to hand over their franchise Pune Warriors back to the BCCI.

Everyone was stunned. Sahara has been the one constant with the Indian cricket team in the 2000s. When Sahara announced the withdrawal the media went to town with it. Except that Sahara actually hasn’t withdrawn anything. He’s just announced it. His legal team hasn’t sent the BCCI any notice. Right now he’s sulking in public.

Roy is royalty in his hometown of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. He perceives himself as a benevolent raja and from the way he talks, it seems that he values relationships a lot. He is loyal to a fault and expects the same from his partners. The BCCI has been continuously disregarding his pleas and applications since 2008.

Sahara has spent between Rs. 600 crore to Rs. 700 crore sponsoring the Indian cricket team over the last decade. He says the money that he has spent is of no consequence. What matters though is the fact that he was one of the first and staunchest supporters of the BCCI, this was back in the days where the BCCI and cricket didn’t command the kind of rates and brand value they do now. When no one was willing to support Indian cricket, Sahara did.

Naturally, Roy expected Sahara to partake of the golden goose called the Indian Premier League. Instead the BCCI disqualified him on a technicality. “They didn’t even open our bid,” he says. He bid and won the Pune franchise in the second round of the IPL. He asked that auctions be held for all players so that all teams would have a level playing field. The BCCI said no. The number of matches in the last IPL season were cut from 94 to 74. He asked for a pro-rata refund. The BCCI said no. The captain of his team Yuvraj Singh is undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with a tumour. He won’t be playing this season. Roy asked that his team be allowed to spend the money that they would have paid to Singh to buy more players. The BCCI said no. He asked if the team could at least increase a foreign player in the team as the Mumbai Indians had done in the Champions League last year. The BCCI said no. Roy said enough.

“No relationship breaks over one issue. It’s been a long time. It’s enough,” he says. He’s still given the BCCI plenty of time to reconsider their treatment of him and come back with a better proposal. He says that if the BCCI doesn’t find a buyer for the Pune franchise the team will play this IPL season that begins on April 4. Sahara will continue to sponsor the national team until the BCCI can find a new sponsor. His attempted message: Even though you’ve treated me so badly, I am still willing to give you one last chance.

The one individual who can change his mind is BCCI President and owner of the IPL team Chennai Kings, N. Srinivasan. Roy and Srinivasan were haggling into the late hours on Friday, February 3. At a news conference Roy gave us the gist of the conversation. “I presented my point of view. Srinivasan replied, “Most of what happened against you happened when I was not the president.” Roy: “You are now. You can change it.” Srinivasan: “There is nothing I can do.”

Roy and his associates continued talking into the wee hours of the morning. They finally decided to call it off. The BCCI, however, isn’t explaining. N.Srinivasan on news channel Times Now said that the differences with Sahara were only perceptional and they could be solved.

Roy is sure it can. He’s hit the BCCI when it’s at its weakest. After scrapping its contract  Nimbus, the board still hasn’t signed a broadcaster for its matches. The Indian cricket team’s performances in Australia and England have left a lot to be desired. Advertisers and sponsors are not happy with the bang they are getting for their buck. The Kochi franchise has been kicked out from the IPL. Last year the Board tried removing the Rajasthan and Punjab franchisees as well. It didn’t succeed. The much touted Champions League T20 has been a damp squib. Nothing’s working out for the Board.

It wouldn’t be the best thing for the Board if it loses Sahara as well. And Roy knows that. Neither party wants to call it off. The bargaining is on. The final outcome will have to be one in which neither loses face.

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.

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