Sponsorship rights contract challenged

The Board of Control for Cricket in India's decision to award the International Management Group and Transworld International combine the Indian team clothing sponsorship rights for international matches for the next three years was on Wednesday challenged in the Mumbai High Court by Gayatri Arts.

Gayatri Arts, a Mumbai-based firm which was one of the original bidders for the sponsorship rights, filed a petition seeking an injunction from the High Court on BCCI entering into a contract with IMG-TWI or any other group. It will come up for hearing on June 1.

According to Sham Dhumatkar, proprietor of Gayatri Arts, the three-year contract was awarded to his company which had made the highest bid of Rs 900 million through a legal tender advertised by the BCCI in a newspaper.

BCCI confirmed the contract in a letter to the company on May 3 and gave it 48 hours to accept the offer. Accordingly, Gayatri Arts accepted the contract in a letter to the BCCI, the petition submitted.

It added that on May 22, however, BCCI's marketing committee held a second meeting in New Delhi, where the contract awarded to Gayatri Arts was rescinded and instead awarded to IMG-TWI after an open bidding and revelation of prices.

Mail Cricket Editor