Kochi Tuskers Kerela Harbouring Hopes Of Returning To IPL
May 12, 2017 at 1:01 PM
At a time when the fans are eagerly waiting to see Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royal make a comeback in the Indian Premier League after a two-year gap, they can witness another franchise- Kochi Tuskers Kerela- returning to the next edition of the tournament after a long gap of six years.
The Kerela-based outfit was terminated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2011 due to an alleged breach of the contract by a consortium of five companies put together by Rendezvous Sports World. The Indian cricket board had asked the franchise to submit a fresh bank guarantee and gave them a deadline of six months to do so. However, when the franchise failed to fulfil the demands, the BCCI took the dire step of terminating their IPL contract. The BCCI also encashed Kochi’s INR 156 crore bank guarantee against their will.
Miffed with the BCCI, the franchisee owners then sought legal assistance and received a favourable decision when a justice panel led by former Chief Justice of India, RC Lahoti, in 2015, asked BCCI to shell out Rs 550 crore to the franchise. The panel also ordered that if the board failed to go through with the payment, they will be charged an 18 percent penalty on an annual basis. But the BCCI was also not ready to throw in the towel yet and decided to challenge the arbitration in a higher court.
As of now, nothing is clear yet on what would happen but the franchise is reportedly wanting to be reinstated in the IPL starting next season.
According to a report in The Indian Express, the BCCI is now eyeing for an out-of-court settlement with the now-defunct franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The report claimed that BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, during the recently-concluded special general body meeting, informed the officials that the board had lost their arbitration proceedings against the franchise and need to shell out a whopping INR 1080 crore.
“The general body is aware of the matter and we will decide our next course of action accordingly,” Choudhary was quoted as saying by the news outlet.
However, the franchise is not willing for a settlement and instead want their team to play in the tournament from the next season onward. The officials from the team recently met the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators and expressed their desire of wanting their team back on the IPL stage for the 11th edition of the IPL.
But the BCCI is not keen to bow down to the franchise’s demands and want them to end the issue by agreeing to an out-of-the-court settlement.
“There is no chance of giving them their place back in the IPL. They want the team because they then want to sell it? The only way out is for them to accept the one-time final settlement and put the issue to rest,” a BCCI member said.