Co-owner Mohit Burman dissociates KXIP and Ness Wadia's jail sentence

Last week, the news of Ness Wadia’s arrest in Japan broke out after he was caught with possession of drugs. As we know, the heir to the 283-year-old Wadio Group is also one of the owners of the Kings XI Punjab franchise in the Indian Premier League. The IPL has already been into many controversies due to illegal practices of owners and players. Quite certainly the BCCI is concerned over Ness Wadia’s arrest and the two-year-long sentence that has been imposed on him.

The sentence has however been suspended for five years. Meanwhile, the BCCI has sent a letter to the Mohali-based franchise, which was then forwarded to the Wadia House in order to get an internal reply. According to the BCCI rules, IPL authorities can take action against a franchise if any of its owner(s) is considered to bring dishonour to the T20 league. Hence the authorities have been seeking information regarding the incident.  

According to The Mirror, the largest shareholder of the franchise Mohit Burman said that the BCCI has asked them for clarification. “They are asking for clarification, we are going to give it to the BCCI,” said Burman. “It is a personal matter. It is nothing to do with Kings XI franchise. We are a professionally-run franchise which is managed by a professionally-appointed CEO, CFO, professional coach and a professional captain. Therefore, what happens to one director in his personal capacity will have no bearing on the running of the team,” he added.

Whatever has happened was in Wadia’s personal capacity, says Burman

The co-owner of the KXIP franchise has cleared that their reply to the BCCI will be sent in a day or two after they get an internal response from the Wadias. Burman has further said the issue should be deemed as concerning with an individual without involving the team.”The reply will be on these lines,” Burman said, adding that Ness is a friend besides being a partner.

He, however, maintained that he does not know what happened to Ness in Japan. “I don’t know, it is a personal matter. Whatever has happened it was in his personal capacity.” While Burman and Wadia, hold 46 per cent and 23 per cent of the franchise’s stakes respectively, Preity-Zinta(23 per cent) and Karan Paul (8 per cent) are the other owners of the team.

[interaction id=”5ccd6de12ea93c9fc20b6295″]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from the Indian Premier League, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.