MUMBAI: In a blow to the owners of the Kochi Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, the Bombay High Court today quashed their plea against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

As a follow-up action, Kochi Tuskers Kerala has appealed against the Bombay High Court?s decision.

The franchise?s case was dismissed by a single bench of Justice SF Vajifdar today. A new hearing before a division bench of the court will take place tomorrow.

Cricket?s richest body had terminated Kochi Tuskers Kerala?s contract on Monday for breaching its terms and conditions, prompting the franchise to move the court.

The Kochi franchise defaulted on a Rs 1.56 billion annual payment it was to make as bank guarantee.

Kochi Tuskers Kerala chairman Mukesh Patel had earlier maintained that the franchise does not owe the BCCI any money.

It remains to be seen as to what happens to the players in that franchise like Mahela Jayawardene. However, BCCI president   said the players? interests would be safeguarded.

The BCCI has not clarified yet whether it will hold an auction for a 10th franchise or go with nine teams.

MUMBAI: The former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has said that the BCCI could lose Rs 20 billion over the termination of the Kochi IPL franchise.

On twitter, Modi wrote: "Kochi now being terminated - a further loss of 1500 crore to BCCI. Compounded by reduction in Media Rights. My estimate 2000 crore. Who is responsible for this mess now? Current president and outgoing president for sure. Who will they blame now for this. Where is the accountability and who will take responsibility,"

Expressing a sense of vindication over the mess, he wrote on his blog that the BCCI?s termination of the Kochi Tusker?s IPL franchise for non-payment of a bank guarantee is a financial mess he had predicted over a year ago. This was a mess he was prevented from trying to avoid during his time as IPL commissioner, he added.

"The news, which came out of the BCCI AGM in Mumbai, is another example of how the vendetta against me is being laid bare.?

Modi said that he had proposed a financial condition that would filter out all but the most serious and robust of bidders. This condition stipulated that bidders should have a capitalisation of no less then $1 billion and was created to ensure they had the ability to support an IPL franchise.

A commissioned report compiled by Ambit and KPMG confirmed that 73 Indian companies had a net worth above $1 billion and 156 had market capitalisation above that figure.

?So we knew there was a significant market at this level. Furthermore, with the reserve price for a franchise set at $225 million, the net worth of a successful bidder would be at least four times the reserve price of a new IPL team; a further safeguard against a consortium investing beyond their means.

?Its also interesting to note that part of the BCCI requirement was to generate interest from bidders for whom an IPL franchise was neither its sole, or its main business. Capitalisation of at least four times the reserve price, would ensure that bidders would clearly have other, significant interests and would also help to ensure their ability to meet annual payments over the required ten-year franchise period. In summary then, the BCCI wanted involvement from those who already had credibility, not those for whom the IPL would provide it.?

For some reason, the BCCI had a late change of heart and, after approving the initial conditions, they effectively brought more bidders into the mix by requesting lower the capitalisation requirement.

?After the award of the franchises to Kochi and Pune, the issue was compounded by my unease with the make up of the consortium which successfully bid for Kochi. Within the shareholding, there were members who were not bearing any of the risk and simply enjoying the potential benefits. This, of course meant others were subjected to a greater proportion of responsibility and I believed such an arrangement could result in potential default at some point - and problems for the IPL," he wrote.

Modi noted that 18 months later, the BCCI has terminated the Kochi contract on the basis of an unpaid bank guarantee which, according to new President N Srinivasan, ?....is not capable of being remedied." As a consequence, the BCCI now stands to lose more than $300 million by virtue of reduced commercial revenue because Kochi?s suspension means fewer teams and therefore games - not to mention a loss of credibility for the IPL itself.

Modi said it will be interesting to see who takes responsibility for an outcome he had predicted even before the contract was signed. ?It is a situation that could have been avoided but what it shows is that the unsubstantiated accusations made against me suggesting I imposed ?onerous? conditions purely to try and manipulate the bidding process towards my preferred bidders has been shot to pieces.?

MUMBAI: India?s cricket board has scrapped the contract of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala for breaching its terms and conditions, setting in process the possibility of a lawsuit.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India?s new president Narainswamy Srinivasan said today the decision to "terminate the franchise" was over payment issues.

The Kochi franchise defaulted on a Rs 1.56 billion annual payment it was to make as bank guarantee.

Srinivasan, who took over the reins as BCCI president from Shashank Manohar, said the board will encash the annual bank guarantee in order to recover the dues that the franchise owes.

"Because of the irremediable breach committed by the Kochi franchise, the BCCI has decided to encash the bank guarantee in their possession and also terminate the franchise," he stated at a media briefing after the board?s annual general meeting here today.

Asked if the BCCI would reconsider its decision and give the franchise a chance to return, Srinivasan bluntly rejected such a suggestion. "No, we have terminated the franchise because the breach is not capable of being remedied."

The consortium behind the kochi franchise has threatened legal action against the BCCI. Earlier the franchise owners had wanted a reduction in their fee on account of the number of their matches being reduced.

Added to the IPL last season as one of the two teams along with Pune Warriors, the Kochi franchise has been at the centre of controversy from its inception with former IPL chairman Lalit Modi questioning the shareholding pattern.

The IPL, which consists of ten city-based teams, will have its governing council take a decision on whether to have another auction for a new franchise.

In March 2010, the Sahara group had bid $370 million to own the Pune franchise while Rendezvous Sports World offered $333.33 million for Kochi.

For the record, this is the third franchise whose contract the BCCI has gotten involved with. It tried to terminate the contracts of Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab last year but the franchises got relief from the court. Those matters are still to be settled.

Meanwhile, the BCCI appointed Rajeev Shukla as the new IPL chairman, succeeding Chirayu Amin.

Vilasrao Deshmukh was appointed the Media Committee chairman, Farukh Abdullah is the Marketing Committee chairman, Jyotiradiya Scindia is Finance Committee chairman while G Viswanath replaces Amarnath in the IPL Governing Council. Stepping into Srinivasan?s shoes as BCCI secretary is Sanjay Jagdale.

MUMBAI: A new chairman will be elected for the Indian Premier League (IPL) during the BCCI?s annual general meeting (AGM) that takes place from 19-20 September.

There has been speculation earlier that Rajiv Shukla will take over the reins from the current IPL chairman Chirayu Amin who was appointed after Lalit Modi was kicked out last year. Media reports state that Amin now wants to step down as he has other responsibilities.

There has also been speculation that IPL CEO Sundar Raman will be given more responsibilities.

N Srinivasan will take over from Shashank Manohar as BCCI president. After India?s poor performance in England, changes are expected to happen in the selection committee.

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate is looking into complaints of criminal activities like money laundering against Indian Premier League (IPL), Parliament was informed today.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in the Rajya Sabha in reply to questions that there are certain "irregularities which are being looked into, particularly relating to some complaints received that there are investments, so far as IPL is concerned, from outside."

"Those are being looked into by the Enforcement Directorate because those are the criminal activities like money laundering," Mukherjee said.

He said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which organises the IPL Twenty20 series had enjoyed income tax exemptions till 2006. This registration was lost in 2006 following verdict of the Allahabad High Court. Since then, BCCI is subject to tax.

He said BCCI itself has taken certain action against IPL. Since the BCCI was earlier exempted from income tax, "there was no question for them to show low income," Mukherjee said, adding the authorities have raised the tax demand after the BCCI lost registration under the Madras Registrations Act.

Tax demands were raised for the assessment years 2007-08 and 2008-09 amounting to Rs 1.18 billion and Rs 2.57 billion respectively. As much as Rs 2.49 billion has already been recovered from BCCI, Mukherjee said.

The gross receipts disclosed by BCCI in its tax returns for the assessment years 2007-08 to 2010-11 are Rs 6.52 billion, Rs 10 billion, Rs 13.88 billion and Rs 16.67 billion respectively, Mukherjee said.

The concerned agencies are looking into the "criminal activities and other areas" under relevant laws, he added.