Mumbai, Feb 14: The bigwigs of the BCCI and Sahara Group today started another round of discussions in a desperate bid to break the stalemate over the participation of Pune Warriors in the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League.
A day after the BCCI's Working Committee rejected some of the demands of Sahara, both the parties held parleys in a city hotel here to try and find a solution to the contentious issues.
In a notable development, former Board President Shashank Manohar was also included in the parleys. Board president N Srinivasan was present at the meeting.
Manohar was the president of BCCI when Sahara Group bought the Pune Franchise for whopping Rs 1700 crore, the costliest franchise in the IPL.
The former BCCI president is well respected in the Indian cricket fraternity for his expertise in crisis management.
Interestingly, it was Manohar who was able to successfully convince the two new franchises (Kochi Tuskers and Pune) before last year's auctions when they had reservations about the ‘Player Retention' policy.
According to reliable sources, Sahara's demand for a reduction of franchise fee, bank guarantee and inclusion of extra foreign player in the team were the main topics of discussions.
Sahara, sponsor of the Indian team for over 11 years, decided to part ways with the BCCI on February 4, complaining that the Board did not give due consideration to its genuine grievances with regards to players and number of matches in the IPL.
The decision to severe all ties with BCCI was taken just hours before the IPL auction got underway in Bangalore.
