5 Times IPL franchises were involved in the controversy

2. Pune Warriors pulling out only 1 hour before auction

Pune Warriors franchise owner Sahara had created a huge controversy by pulling out of the IPL on the day of auction in 2012 due to the financial differences with the BCCI. However, the two parties had patched up later by issuing a joint statement. But the strained relations between Sahara and the BCCI continued and eventually the franchise pulled out of the IPL soon after the IPL 2013.

Sahara had bought the Pune franchise for a huge amount of Rs 1702 crore ($30 million) in March 2010. However, they requested the BCCI to recalculate the franchise fee from their original agreement as the league matches per team reduced from 18 to 16. With 10 teams playing in IPL 2011, every team played a total of 18 league matches and when the Kochi Tuskers Kerala were terminated, it reduced to 16.

Sahara, in its statement according to ESPNCricinfo, claimed that they bid Rs 1700 crore for the IPL franchise on the basis of the revenue calculation of the matches being played. It also added that they requested the BCCI to revisit the franchise fee but nothing was heard. Eventually, the differences remained and the franchise pulled out of the IPL and Sahara also decided to pull out of team India sponsorship at the end of 2013 when the contract was about to end.