Indian Cricket team is planning to recover from disaster during the Pune Test against Australia. But they have now got another problem to deal with as Star India have decided not to bid for the upcoming season to gain new sponsorship deal. [বাংলায় পড়ুনঃ বিসিসিআইকে না বলছে স্টার ইন্ডিয়া] The current contract of Jersey sponsorship between Indian Cricket team and Star India is soon going to end after 31st of March this year. But the problem has arose as the Television channel based company has announced they have no intentions to renew the contract at the end of ongoing tenure of sponsorship. Star India not only sponsored the National cricket team but the Indian Under-19 Cricket team as well as the Indian Women's Cricket team.

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The Indian Cricket Board- BCCI had no idea that anything like this was coming ahead for them. But the Star India has said they decided this due to the current situation of the world's biggest cricket board. Uday Shankar the CEO of Star India has said, “Given all the volatility, we are indeed concerned about the health of cricket in the days ahead. No one seems to be talking about making cricket bigger and more popular. We have been very proud that our name is carried on the jersey of Team India. But given all the uncertainties, we have decided not to bid for it again. The commitments being asked for are too onerous without any clarity.” “For us, the problem is, right now we do not see a consensual leadership in cricket.The power of cricket came from the fact that everybody was aligned. The global cricket leadership was generally aligned to drive it forward. The alignment seems to have broken down. Lack of clarity ­both, in ICC as well as BCCI is our biggest concern right now. We have nothing to do with the politics of cricket. Currently we have invested in cricket more than any other media company has ever done. Our investments in the game are to the tune of a few billion dollars. And hence the business risk for us is very high", the CEO also added. It will be another major blow for the former world champions who recently lost to Australia by 333 runs at Pune despite playing the match as favorites in home conditions. As far as Star India's existing contract with the BCCI is concerned, they are believed to be paying around Rs 2 crore per match for bilateral series and Rs 60 lakh per game for International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments. Earlier, the famous sports brand Nike also announced that they will not be a part of Indian Cricket team anymore; one of the world's most popular sports wear brands Nike used to sponsor bats of Indian Cricketers.

• Maksudul HAQUE, correspondent, bdcrictime