IPL 2018: Royals drop 'Rajasthan' from the franchise name

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has always reaped rich dividends from the Indian Premier League (IPL). The premier T20 tournament is arguably the biggest cash cow in the cricket world at the moment. However, at present, IPL 2018 seems to be creating more confusion for the BCCI than the pleasures.

They had recently offered the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala a sum of 850 crore INR for having illegally terminated their contract in 2011. KTK, in no mood to settle, refused the offer. They have stressed on the fact that they wish to get reinstated in the tournament.

“We’ve asked BCCI to pay part money (Rs 1,000 crore) along with reinstatement of our team. We were treated so shabbily by BCCI for no fault of ours. Where as CSK and RR are now welcomed back despite their wrongdoings. We want to play cricket and that’s all,” the owners quoted. Surely, the BCCI will have to shell big bucks to settle the case.

Problems with RR, CSK

In another development, the owners of the Jaipur franchise made an appeal to drop the word Rajasthan from their name. As per the recent reports in DNA India, their plea has been accepted. The team is now called Royals. Reports suggest that Sanjiv Goenka, who had owned Rising Pune Supergiant in last 2 editions of the IPL, is keen on striking a deal for the Royals’ ownership for INR 1000 crore.

“The dropping of word Rajasthan from the team’s name had already been approved by GC. The team’s name now is just Royals,” informed a GC member on Tuesday. While one returning team has this issue, the other returning team, Chennai Super Kings, is facing issues with restructured ownership patterns. N Srinivasan has already transferred the Super Kigs shares amon the share holders.

At present, the net worth of the franchise thus remains to be only INR 50 lakh. This in essence means that the BCCI will gain only INR 5 lakh from the franchise as against the INR 50 crore that it will get from the Royals’ sale. “This issue related to CSK has been referred to our legal team. We will wait for their advice,” a GC insider mentioned.