The contract of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sahara Pune Warriors has reportedly been terminated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for their failure to pay a bank guarantee of Rs. 174 crores.
The Pune Warriors, which is owned by the Sahara Group, had been heading towards this situation after BCCI encashed its bank guarantee due to non-payment of franchise fee, and the franchise has reportedly formally announced its withdrawal from the lucrative Indian T20 event.
Media reports stated that Sahara has been demanding the completion of the arbitration proceedings on the issue of franchise fee and it believes that the fee should be decreased as the BCCI failed to deliver on its promised number of IPL matches for the team.
Reports also said that the BCCI would face substantial financial loss with the termination of the contract of the Pune Warriors as the franchise is the most expensive franchise on the IPL roster.