The Bombay High Court has upheld an arbitration award of ₹538 crore to the Kochi Tuskers Kerala IPL team.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has upheld an arbitration award directing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to pay ₹538 crore in compensation to the Kochi Tuskers Kerala, a former Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise. The Kochi Tuskers were terminated from the IPL after the 2011 season for alleged breach of contract. The franchise owners then filed a petition, leading to the arbitration award.
Justice R.I. Chagla of the Bombay High Court dismissed the BCCI's appeal against the arbitration award. The Kochi Tuskers were expelled in September 2011 for failing to provide the annual bank guarantee of ₹156 crore, a violation of the contract terms with the BCCI.
BCCI vs Kochi Tuskers
The then-BCCI president Shashank Manohar's decision to terminate the Kochi franchise was met with opposition from within the BCCI. Some members suggested allowing the team to continue playing in the IPL to avoid paying compensation, but Manohar disregarded this advice.
The Rendezvous Consortium, owners of the Kochi Tuskers, then approached the arbitration court. The BCCI's attempts to avoid paying the compensation have faced setbacks in various courts. The dispute stemmed from the BCCI's unilateral encashment of the ₹156 crore bank guarantee provided by the Kochi Tuskers for IPL entry. Although the BCCI gave the franchise six months to furnish a new guarantee, the Kochi Tuskers refused, leading to their expulsion in September 2011.
The IPL, which began in 2008 with eight teams, added two new franchises through auctioning in 2011: Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors India. The Kochi franchise was owned by the Rendezvous Consortium, a group of various business entities. While the Kochi Tuskers played only one season, finishing eighth, the Pune Warriors played two more seasons before being terminated for breach of contract.
Since 2014, the IPL has reverted to eight teams. The Kochi Tuskers squad included players like Brendon McCullum, Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, S. Sreesanth, and Brad Hodge. Their home ground was the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi, which is now used as a football stadium for Kerala Blasters FC in the Indian Super League.