BCCI SGM to look at issues pertaining to termination of Kochi Tuskers

In the recent Special General Meeting (SGM) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the long-lasting issue of the termination of the former Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kochi Tuskers had been discussed among other things.

The Kochi Tuskers Kerela was an IPL team based in Kerela which featured in only one season in 2011. They squad consisted of stars such as Mahela Jayawardena, Brendon McCullum, Muttiah Muralitharan, Steve Smith, Thisera Perera and many more. Amongst the Indian stars, VVS Laxman, Ravindra Jadeja and Sreesanth were included in the squad. The team finished eighth in the 2011 edition of the league.

Out of the fourteen matches they played, they lost eight of them. As the franchise was a consortium of various top-notch companies, a dispute within the parties along with the failure of the team to pay 10% bank guarantee of the total franchise fee that it was supposed to pay before the season began, BCCI decided to terminate the team from the league.

Recent Developments

Coming to 2017, Kochi Tuskers Kerela and the cricket board is currently under negotiations to settle matters. According to arbitration, the Indian cricket board has to pay Kochi actuals to the tune of $570m, with the annual interest till the date of realizaton. “The more the BCCI delays, the amount will keep going higher. It has already gone beyond Rs 1100 crore,” an official close to the developments commented according to Times of India.

While a Bombay High Court order on this matter is awaited in the next two months, which is a result of BCCI going to court after the arbitration was awarded unilaterally to the franchise, there’s been this growing intent within the BCCI to settle matters outside of court. The intent, backed by the SC-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), is certainly a prudent move given the massive amounts that BCCI is now liable to pay Tuskers, thanks to the accumulating interest on the actuals at 18%.