Sahara interested in sponsoring Bangladesh

Subrata Roy, the chairman of the Sahara group that sponsors India's men's and women's cricket teams, has said that he is interested in sponsoring Bangladesh cricket.

Speaking at an event in Dhaka, he said that it 'may be possible' for Sahara to sponsor the Bangladesh team. "The Sahara logo is seen on the jerseys of Indian cricket team," he said. "Though I am not announcing it right now, but I can say it may be possible to see the same logo on the jersey of Bangladesh cricket team."

Last month, the BCB had announced a request for quotation for the sponsorship rights for the national team. The board, however, couldn't confirm any official approach from the Sahara group.

In February, Sahara and the BCCI's relationship went through a rough patch, with the group saying it was withdrawing sponsorship of the India team and selling their IPL franchise, Pune Warriors. However, after two weeks of negotiations, the two parties patched up, and Sahara is currently serving its third consecutive term as India's sponsors. The last times the rights were open to bidding, in May 2010, Sahara outbid Bharti Airtel, offering Rs 3.34 [US$593,000 approx] crore per match.

Apart from India's senior cricket teams, Sahara also sponsors the country's field hockey men's and women's teams, and was co-sponsor of the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi.