Sahara sponsorship fiasco is BCCI's problem, says ICC

The International Cricket Council (ICC) claimed no responsibility on Monday for the Sahara sponsorship fiasco that leaves the India team without a team sponsorship during a major global event.

Sahara India Group withdrew their team sponsorship on Sunday, estimated to be worth approximately $US13.5 million over three years, after the team walked on to the field against Zimbabwe without their normal Sahara logo.

The ICC had forced the Indian cricket board to drop the logo after a complaint from South African Airlines, an official sponsor of the 12-team event.

In a media statement Sahara hinted at legal action against the Indian board, saying that Sahara would take steps to "protect national pride and enforce its rights, and initiate appropriate legal proceedings against all concerned."

The BCCI may then demand compensation from the ICC, claiming that their objections to the Sahara sponsorship to be unreasonable considering that Sahara, which manages a small domestic airline, is not a direct competitor to South African Airlines.

But the ICC is convinced that the Indian board will have to face up to the consequences alone.

"It's really unfortunate that the Indian team sponsors have decided to withdraw their support and the matter is between the BCCI and the Sahara Group," said ICC's Brenden McClements on the tournament's official website.

"The terms and conditions were made known to all the boards much in advance and they should have sorted this problem between them," he added.

"I think the ICC will not have any problem and there is no question of compensation."

This not the first time that teams have been forced to drop their main sponsors for an ICC event.

"In 1999 World Cup, the Australian team was sponsored by Ansett, while the tournament was sponsored by Emirates," explained McClements. "The Australian Cricket Board decided to drop Ansett as it was a competitor to Emirates."

And, in this tournament, Bangladesh were forced to blank out their Coke logos because Pepsi was a global partner.