New Delhi, Nov. 17: The fate of the faction-ridden Kochi franchise is as good as sealed. Come November 27 — the end of their one-month deadline to sort out internal differences — the Board of Control for Cricket in India is likely to axe the team and then float a fresh tender inviting bids for a new one.
There is still ten days to go for that to happen. On Wednesday after the IPL’s governing council meeting in Mumbai, BCCI vice president and GC member Rajiv Shukla said that the Kochi turmoil had not been discussed at all.
“The issue of the Kochi was not discussed, because they have been given a notice of one month which expires on November 27. The issue was not on the agenda. A decision on the issue will be taken only after that,” Shukla told reporters after the meeting, assuring that the board would go by the book.
Internally though, the BCCI top brass has already set in motion plans to replace Kochi with a new team.
A board insider confirmed to this newspaper that orders had been given to the administrative office in Delhi and the legal team in Mumbai to prepare the papers for a new tender.
“There has been lot of bickering between the two factions in the past few days, and it’s very clear that neither of them are interested in solving the problem,” the official said. “Save for a miracle, there is nothing more they can do now.”
The BCCI has no choice but to be hurried as all IPL contracts signed between players and franchisees say the tournament can only take place if there are at least eight teams in the fray.
For the record, the two factions — one, a group of investors led by Anchor Switches’ Mehul Shah and the other, Rendezvous Sports World Pvt Ltd, the promoters — have been given more time to fix their house than they had asked for.
While they had a series of meetings earlier this month in the hope of a mutual consensus, they are now busy formulating exit strategies. A representative from the investors’ group said they’re not interested in running the franchise anymore and would soon ask permission of the board to withdraw from it.
Satayjit Gaekwad of Rendezvous Sports though told this newspaper that the investors cannot surrender the team. “As per the franchise agreement, only we can take such a decision, they can’t,” he added. “If a decision of some sort has to be taken, you can bet that it will come from us,” Satyajit said.