The newly-elected BCCI president, Shashank Manohar, faces a new headache, as he is forced to sort out the sponsorship issue with a disgruntled PepsiCo, which has reportedly decided to pull out as the title sponsors of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Indian Express reported on Friday that sources from the IPL and the governing body of cricket in India have confirmed that Pepsi, which had signed a five-year deal with the IPL in 2013 to be the title sponsors of the cash-rich cricket tournament, has decided to cut its ties with the league.
The decision from the beverage giants presumably came over the infamous IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.
Now, the BCCI has to take up the matter in the working committee meeting in Mumbai on 18 October.
"Last season, Pepsi wanted to withdraw, especially in the aftermath of the spot-fixing case but the BCCI managed to convince it to stick on for another year. However, this time it was firm that it will not continue its association with the IPL, more so after the Lodha Committee recommended the suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals," a source from the IPL was quoted by The Indian Express.
"The conflict of interest issues also had an impact."
IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla has however not termed the development as a major issue, and he hopes that the matter will get settled "amicably" in the working committee meeting.
"We are in talks with other sponsors as well, so the title deal with Pepsi is not that big an issue. They have certain points and we are going to settle them amicably in the next meeting," Shukla was quoted as saying by PTI.
"They have been a very good partner all this while and we do not want to disturb our relationship with them. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen in a very smooth manner."
Meanwhile, no official statement has come yet from PepsiCo. The beverage giants bid a whopping Rs. 396.8 crore rupees for their five year contract -- which is due to run until 2017.
