IPL governing council to decide on Kochi players’ fate

There has been lot of talk on possible participation of Pakistan cricketers in the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) but the real issue could be something else when the governing council of the tournament meets in Hyderabad on October 14. Back room discussions are taking place over the fate of players associated with the now defunct IPL team — Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

IPL COO Sundar Raman has been seeking views on ways to go about the issue of the players of the banned team. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has no worries regarding the payments to the players. Having encashed the bank guarantee of the Kochi team, the board officials can pay off the players for the second year — all player contracts are for two years with a provision for extending them by another year — but the authorities want to involve them in the league.“The point is how to let them play,” said a source. There are 28 players in the Kochi roaster.

One suggestion that was put forth was to allow each team a purse of $1 million and go for a small auction but there is no guarantee that all nine existing teams would be interested in all the players of the banned franchise. Among the big names from the team are Mahela Jayawardene, Ravindra Jadeja, Brendon McCullum, Parthiv Patel and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Raman has held talks with a few teams and will continue the parleys till the Hyderabad meeting after his return from Dubai. He is currently accompanying board president N Srinivasan for the ICC meet.