Game over: Kochi contract terminated

Because of the irremediable breach committed by the Kochi franchise,the BCCI has decided to encash the bank guarantee in their possession and also terminate the franchise, Srinivasan said,soon after taking the chair of BCCIs most important post. According to sources in the BCCI,the franchise owners were constantly kept in the loop,reminded time and again before the step was taken.

Earlier,IPLs chief operating officer Sundar Raman had sent various notices asking KTK to submit a fresh bank guarantee,but the Kerala side officials didnt even bother replying to BCCIs mails and reminders. Instead of submitting their dues on time,they asked for matches to be shifted from Kochi to Ahmedabad.

The teams promoters,however,hit back by saying that they have made their payments and instead,it is the board that owes them money. The board has been upset with us because we raised some pertinent points and challenged the bully ways in which they operate, said Mukesh Patel,of Parinee Developers,the second largest investor in the Kochi franchise with a 31 per cent stake.

In our contract,BCCI had said each team will get to play 18 matches every season but the number of matches was later cut down to 14. This,obviously,impacted our income. We,therefore,asked BCCI to waive our franchisee fee in proportion to the reduction in the number of matches and paid them the rest of the due amount, he said.

Patel also alleged that the board was yet to pay the franchisee its share from IPLs central revenue pool,comprising broadcast and sponsorship revenues. In the previous two seasons,IPL franchisees were paid around Rs 30 crore each from this pool.

No reconsideration

But according to Srinivasan,there is now little scope of the board reconsidering its decision in the future,and lesser chances of the team returning to the IPL. No,we have terminated the franchise because the breach is not capable of being remedied, he stated.

People associated with the franchisee,however,say that the promoters were in a financial mess having incurred massive losses within the first year and were looking for ways to get out of the venture. The team failed to generate much sponsorship (Rs 7 crore) and its gate receipts (around Rs 1.5 crore) were,anyway,meagre given the status of the venue. It,therefore,ended up having losses of around Rs 200 crore in the first year itself. This shook most investors. Since they cannot sell the team so soon,they had decided to get a strategic investor on board and take a backseat themselves, said one of the investors.

Confirming that the franchisees were scouting for investors,Patel said they will take BCCI to the courts. We have sent the termination notice to our legal advisors. This is gross injustice and we do not accept this termination, he said.

Meanwhile,the IPL Governing Council,along with its new chairman Rajiv Shukla,will decide whether the fifth season will be played with nine teams or whether a new team will be put up for auction again.

In case Kochi move court against the BCCI,Shukla said the they will be ready. We cant do much,they were at fault. We didnt receive the bank guarantee amount from them and as per the rules,BCCI were right in terminating their contract, Shukla said,adding,Im quite sure they will go for legal action,and its the only option that they have left. But we are capable of dealing with it.

BCCI to pay Players

There is some good news as far as the Kochi players,who havent been paid yet,are concerned. With 35 per cent of the payment yet to be paid,Shukla said: These are our players and we,the BCCI,will pay them their outstanding dues. The players dont have to worry.