Kochi Tuskers Kerala rejects BCCI's 750 crore offer

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has proposed former Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala a sum of Rs 750 crores to put an end to the longstanding dispute. During a meeting with the management of the Kochi IPL team in Delhi last week, the BCCI officials are understood to have made a revised offer that was worth Rs 750 crore. But it seems, the initiative didn’t work out well.

Mukesh Patel, the main owner wasn’t present during the meeting. He was in the US and all those who have participated in the meeting decided to meet once again. One understands that the Kochi management said they would be willing to make a climbdown on compensation if the BCCI agreed to reinstate the team.

In the other case, they will want the full compensation paid. The franchise is of the view that the total compensation, with interest calculated, adds up to Rs 1400 crores. That is almost double of the sum proposed by the BCCI members to the franchise.

10-team IPL?

“Either they should give us the full amount or reinstate our side with a reduced amount,” a franchise source was quoted by Ahmedabad Times. “It is not that there were never more than eight teams in the IPL.”

Kochi were one of the two franchises added to the IPL in the 2011 edition, along with Pune Warriors, taking the number of teams that season to ten. The BCCI, of course, maintains that the number of IPL teams cannot be increased.

Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will come back into the IPL next year, in place of Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions. MS Dhoni was a part of the Pune franchise, while his CSK team-mate Suresh Raina wore the captain’s arm band for Gujarat Lions. With 8 teams already in the league, it will be interesting to see if the BCCI has a change of heart.