Mumbai, Dec 2 (IANS) Unable to find any takers for the team’s sponsorship, the Indian cricket board Wednesday extended its present contract with Sahara by six months.
Board secretary N.Srinivasan said in a statement that the extension was given to Sahara on the basis of present terms and conditions by the marketing committee headed by president Shashank Manohar.

“Before the expiry of the extension period, a fresh tender would be issued, inviting bids for the team sponsorhip,” he said.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had no other option but to give an extension to Sahara after none showed interest in bidding for the new sponsorship deal. Sahara’s four-year contract worth Rs.4 billion will end this month.

For the new sponsorship, the BCCI floated tenders for the jersey logo Nov 2 but even after the last date Nov 24 passed not a single bid was submitted.

The main reason is the huge base price quoted by the BCCI. The board sought Rs.30 million each for Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 played in the next four years. India will play nearly 170 international matches in the next four years and the BCCI was looking to raise a minimum of Rs.5 billion. The bid amount would have been surely bigger.

The BCCI also said that it has sold title and ground rights of the two Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka to World Sports Group (WSG) at Rs.31.5 million per match.