The league stage of the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League ended on May 19. Two days later, the Sahara Group withdrew their franchise, Pune Warriors India, from the Indian Premier League. This was not the first time they did that. They had threatened to pull out just ahead of the auctions for the 2012 edition, and had actually boycotted the auctions. IPL Controversies-Part 17: Spot-Fixing Allegations Against S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan in 2013.

But Pune had returned after that, to play in 2012 and 2013. This time, however, the withdrawal was permanent. According to the BCCI, Pune had defaulted on the entire franchise fee amount, as a result of which BCCI had encashed the mandatory bank guarantee of INR 170.2 crores.

Sahara’s version was significantly different. They issued a reasonably long press release that began with “BCCI as a sports body should have sportsman spirit”. In fact, they requested “BCCI to not to approach us this time for any discussion as they have done in February 2012.” IPL Controversies- Part 16: No Sri Lankan Cricketers in Chennai During IPL 2013.

Interestingly, at this time Sahara were also the official sponsors of the Indian national cricket team. They continued to hold that status until December 2013, when the contract expired. Star Network won the new contract. The IPL was back to eight teams. The count has not changed until 2021, though it will in 2022.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 12, 2021 07:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).