The BCCI has also sent out a strong warning to Team Kochi asking them set their house in order or face the axe.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been shaken up once again. In a move team owners and players call “shocking”, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to give the boot to Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab.
After a meeting of the league’s governing council (GC) here on Sunday, the BCCI terminated the contracts of the two teams for what it called a ‘breach of franchise agreements’.
It has also sent out a strong warning to Team Kochi asking them set their house in order or face the axe.
As reported by DNA on Sunday, the BCCI has grabbed the first possible opportunity to cut the league to size, that is eight teams — Board mandarins think a 10-team league was an unwanted legacy of Lalit Modi. The decision also severs the last of Modi’s link with the league.
The former IPL chief is believed to be holding a stake in the two teams, but BCCI president Shashank Manohar denied any connection with Modi, saying the action was for breach of agreement.
The action follows an internal investigation initiated against the teams. It was found that there were gross violations of franchise agreement by the Jaipur and Mohali team owners. In the case of Royals, the agreement, it was found, was breached seven times.
The report was submitted to the BCCI at the AGM, and discussed among the GC members on Sunday when Manohar apprised the newly-constituted council of the need for action.
The decision was taken after consulting the best possible legal experts. Sources says even Attorney General of India Goolam Vahanvati has advised them that the action could pass the test of law. Once the Board got this go-ahead, it decided not to issue any showcause notice
. “The irregularities are so many that there was no need for any showcause,” said a GC member who was present at the meeting. “The violations cannot be undone by the franchises. The mistakes cannot be rectified.” The view on Team Kochi, which faces severe internal wrangling, is that it can correct its mistakes and therefore can be granted a little time.
The reaction to the decision, predictably, was critical with several franchises, chiefly Vijay Mallya, condemning the decision. The two banned teams have declared their intention to challenge the decision in the court of law. Modi, of course, made it clear that it was engineered by his chief adversary N Srinivasan, who was, incidentally, conspicuous by his absence at the council meeting.
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