Kochi Tuskers to be awarded 1,080 crore by the BCCI

Kochi Tuskers Kerala was inducted into the IPL in 2011 along with Pune Warriors. The team was led by Mahela Jayawardene and did not do too well as they ended up winning just 6 games out of 14. They were soon ousted from the Indian Premier League as the BCCI alleged breach the contract. Asked to submit a bank guarantee of 10% of the total franchise fee, Kochi Tuskers faltered and the BCCI terminated their contract in September 2011.

Since then both the franchise owners and the BCCI are fighting an arbitration proceeding as the former is seeking damages for their contract termination. The major agenda of the BCCI’s Special General Meeting today at New Delhi was to discuss the cloud over India’s participation in the forthcoming Champions Trophy. The meeting ended on a good note as the defending champions are now set to depart for the tournament which is going to be held in England from June 1. But the meeting didn’t start on that positive a position for the richest cricket board in the world.

BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary, before the start of the SGM, informed the rest of the present members about BCCI’s loss in the arbitration proceedings against Kochi Tuskers. The BCCI has to pay Rs 1080 crores to the franchise as awarded by the court.

The board is likely to file an appeal or seek an out of court settlement with the other party. This is a big jolt to the BCCI who have been in the news for the wrong reasons lately.

Though they have let the Indian team play in the Champions Trophy, their battle against ICC is still on over the revenue model. It remains to be seen how both the concerned matters are resolved as both involve a lot of money.