<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">It is amusing to hear that there are no takers for the Indian cricket as no big corporate houses are coming forward to bid for sponsorship of the national team and a domestic limited-overs tournament. Yes, the major houses are apprehensive, not because they can''t raise the kind of money the board is demanding for its title properties, but they hate to deal with people who negotiate on the board''s behalf.<br /><br />Ask any corporate house which dealt with the cricket board since the late 80s when cricket started attracting sponsors in a big way, they will all cry in unison that they felt humiliated while dealing with the board officials.
VST, Reliance, MRF, ITC, <br /><br />Videocon, Pepsi, Titan, Shaw Wallace and Hero Honda have all burnt their fingers shaking hands with the board and one big grouse of theirs is that there''s no transparency and consistency in its approach. A corporate executive once challenged to show a cow with six legs if anyone could prove that a sponsor is indeed happy with the board. <br /><br />Nowhere else in the world, sponsors are treated like dirt. Once the deal is struck, the travails of the sponsors begin. The board''s boxes are reserved for its officials and their families, whereas the sponsors struggle to wade through the lathi blows at the entrance. The tobacco companies suffered in silence because they couldn''t go anywhere for better mileage.<br /><br />Does cricket really command the price that is being quoted? Perhaps not, but you must give it to the ingenious negotiators who first jack up the value sky-high and then start renegotiating after the bids are made public, leaving room for suspicion. <br />For years we have been saying that the board must be more transparent and professional. What passes understanding is how the board and the corporate world co-exist despite their dislike, if not hatred, for each other. Take, for instance, the present rigmarole the board and the sponsors are going through. The whole process appears flawed. <br /><br />The board issued a tender notice in all the national dailies early last month with a catchy slogan <span style="" color:="" font-style:="" italic="">Be a part of Indian cricket team</span>, seeking sponsorship of the Indian team, sponsorship of the limited-overs tournament, known as Wills Trophy till last season, and non-leading arm (a small logo on the shoulder) This was necessitated because ITC pulled out the moment the government said it was going to ban tobacco ads in sport.<br /><br />The ad read pretty exciting for sponsors who are assured of even featuring six members of the team of their choice in their communications and advertisements specifically directed at the sponsorship of the team like Kelvinator did during the Australian team''s visit here. <br /><br />The board did well to fix the amount ITC paid for the team and the Wills Trophy as the base figure, underlining that any offer less than that would not be entertained. ITC paid Rs 35 lakhs for a Test and Rs 30 lakhs for a one-dayer. So far so good. <br />The board president did one wise thing this time by announcing the names of the bidding companies and the amount bid at the marketing committee meeting. At least three of the four short-listed companies offered attractive figures, though one senior official challenges it. Then there was a hitch. It''s not a hitch at all, it''s a ploy of the board''s negotiastor and he conveniently changes it to suit his liking. At one point of time he had no qualms in dealing with sports promotion companies, but in another negotiation he refused to talk to middlemen, preferring to deal directly with the sponsoring company, because he didn''t like the hairstyle of an event manager! <br /><br />Since the tender notice this time didn''t specify any deterrent clause, the board is divided whether to accept bids from front companies. What is intriguing is that board members are keeping mum over a new front company which is believed to have offered a flat sum of Rs 45 lakhs for both Tests and one-dayers. It is said to be the front for one of the Indian oil companies. The other event management company in the fray is 21st Century which should be well-versed with the board''s functioning. The company that directly bid is Hero Honda. The offer for the limited-overs tournaments is around Rs 60 lakhs.<br /><br />It''s a straight offer and the marketing committee could have easily decided on the sponsors who, in any case, have offered more than what ITC paid. Here the board''s internal politics surfaced and board chief A C Muthiah walked into the trap laid by his opponents by agreeing to allow Jagmohan Dalmiya to renegotiate the bids as he is believed to have promised to get 30 percent more! There''s a limit to avarice. If the board honestly thinks that it can get upwards of Rs 45 laksh for Tests and one-dayers and Rs 60 lakhs for the domestic tournament then someone must have undersold the title property last time to ITC whose contract was to run till 2003! <br /><br />Within days of the decision, Dalmiya pulled out of the negotiations. Board members are surmising on the reasons for his withdrawal from a job he immensely likes. They are unable to fathom why his letter to Muthiah was passed on to a national agency for wider publicity. Possibly, he found it difficult to inflate the price any more or he wanted to embarrass Muthiah. </div> </div>
