IPL franchise faces the danger of being scrapped as investors fight over sweat equity
The crisis in Team Kochi, the controversy-ridden fresh entrant in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has taken a turn for the worse with two groups in the divided franchise taking irreconcilable positions. If not resolved early, it might lead to the team being scrapped from the IPL.
According to Shashi Tharoor, the mentor of the team, the position is “perilously close to becoming unsalvageable” and he is making one final effort to salvage the situation.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has given the franchise 10 days to speak in one voice. “We can’t work with two groups,” BCCI president Shashank Manohar has said.
The bone of contention among the multiple owners is sweat equity, more specifically the volume of it. The investors, chiefly Mukesh Patel, Harshad Mehta, Saket Mehta, Vivek Venugopal, Atul Shah and Nerul Shah, who hold up to 74% of the stake, want the holders of the remaining 26% to invest rather than keep free equity. Which means, the equity held by Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar and other partners of Rendezvous Sports World are not acceptable to them.
It is also learnt that the investors have taken objection to the ‘elevation’ of Satyajitsinh Gaekwad as the CEO of the team.
Rendezvous recently wrote a letter, which in possession of DNA, stating that all communication on behalf of the IPL team shall be undertaken by Gaekwad.
As mentioned in the correspondence, the investors would not accept any condition even if it were to be at the cost of the team. They are also believed to have told Tharoor that they are opposed new partners in the company. One of their objections, it is learnt, is the likely presence of a certain Dilip Kumar, who once claimed to be the vice-chairman of Redezvous Sports World.
“Investors are clear that they do not want to proceed any further and would rather lose the team than bow down to unwarranted pressure,” one investor has written to the Kerala MP.
DNA has a copy of this letter. Rattled by the turn of events, Tharoor has dashed off a letter to the partners and called for an urgent meeting. “My wife and I will be in Trivandram. If you feel we can help in any way, let us know. I urge you to act with wisdom and statesmanship rather than allow all the effort and expense already made to go to waste,” Tharoor wrote.
A representative of the investors may meet Tharoor on Sunday when one topic of discussion could be sweat equity. He has also invited a representative of Rendezvous.
Team insiders say Tharoor was advised by close aides, particularly his officer on special duty Jacob Joseph, to stay away from the sweat equity. He was also told that an IPL team for Kerala would be a great boost to his popularity among the state’s youth but the former Union minister did not pay heed to the advice, particularly on the matter of sweat equity.
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