IPL chucks out Kings XI,Royals

The Kochi franchise,Rendezvous Sports World Unincorporated Joint Venture,which is in the news for the power struggle among its stake holders,has been given 10 more days to get their house in order.

The decision,it is learnt,is to go ahead with eight teams this season. If Kochi is not able to get its act together,there will be a fresh bid for the eighth team. No decision has been taken about when the players auction will be held. Neither are we in a position to clarify whether two more teams will be inducted, said BCCI President Shashank Manohar.

When asked about the Rajasthan Royals after the meeting,Manohar said: They had different bidders during auctions. The agreement was entered in the name of a different company. The share-holding patterns were different and then the shares were transferred to different people without the permission of the governing council.

Incidentally,the reason for Kings XI Punjabs termination,too,is the same.

As per the franchise clause agreement,a change of control of ownership can take place only with the prior consent of the BCCI-IPL. Following legal advice,the governing council came to the conclusion that the ownership pattern of both Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals had violated this clause.

The show-cause notice issued to the two franchise on October 1 explains where Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals erred. In January,2008,Emerging Media IPL Limited represented by Manoj Badale won the right for the Jaipur franchise. But earlier this year,when the share-holding pattern of the franchise was investigated,it was found that neither Badale nor Emerging Media had any shares in it.

For Kings XI Punjab,the franchisee agreement was executed on behalf of KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited with Preity Zinta as the chairperson in April 2008. However,it was found that neither Zinta,nor the other visible face of the franchise,Ness Wadia,had any legal ownership right.

Manohar denied that Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals had been targeted because former IPL chairman Lalit Modi had close links with the two. Suresh Chellaram,a co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals is the brother-in-law of Modis wife,while his step-daughter is married into the Burman family. The decisions were not take due to any person, Manohar said.

Modi wrote on Twitter that that the decision was illegal and the Board had chosen a path of vengeance. The status of all teams is the same. They were all approved. There is no ambiguity as far as that is concerned. The action it totally illegal, Modi said. Instead of concentrating on building IPL and BCCI,they have chosen a path of vengeance and in that they will only hurt the game, he wrote. He,in turn,pointed fingers at BCCIs secretary N Srinivasan. All illegal things done by Chennai Super Kings and its owners have been overlooked by BCCI. Why? Who is running the show?

The owners of the Rajasthan Royals hinted that they might take legal action against the decision. We have always conducted ourselves transparently in accordance with our contract terms and only desire fair and unbiased treatment from the BCCI. If the only way to achieve this is through legal recourse,then that is a shame for those that seek to invest in sport in India, Rajasthan Royals said in a statement. One of its owners,Raj Kundra,said: I dont know how the IPL-4 will be held if the BCCI starts treating teams in this manner. I am not in a position to make any further comments until I receive a formal copy of the termination agreement. Obviously,I will be seeking legal opinion in this matter.

Zinta,who has been the face of Kings XI,said she was shocked. She tweeted: Still absorbing the news. After working so hard in the IPL and putting my everything building this team dis this is not what I expected! Shocked!

The team management,in a statement,said it was surprised and saddened by the BCCIs decision. Kings XI hopes that the BCCI will engage in a productive dialogue to resolve all misunderstandings, it said.

with agencies