BCCI ordered to pay Rs. 550 crore to Kochi Tuskers

BCCI to appeal against the order

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been ordered by a court to pay Rs. 550 crore to the Indian Premier League's (IPL) defunct franchise, Kochi Tuskers.

An arbitrator appointed by the Supreme Court of India has asked the BCCI to compensate the approximate amount for terminating the franchise agreement in September 2011. The governing council of IPL wants to appeal against the order but on the other hand, Kochi Tuskers are looking for a re-entry in the T20 league.

IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla commented that they'll be asking their legal committee to look into the matter.

"We are in possession of the arbitrator Justice Lahoti's report and a majority of the governing council members are in favour of appealing against it. We have sought an opinion from our legal team," Shukla told ESPNcricinfo.

The chairman of Kochi Tuskers, Mukesh Patel, said that he won't be able to comment on the issue as he is out of town.

The Tuskers franchise contract was terminated by the BCCI because of an alleged breach of contract by the stakeholders. The BCCI then, acting according to the rulebook, decided to encash the bank guarantee given by the Kochi Tuskers.

“The BCCI is going for legal opinion on this and we will see if we can challenge it in the High Court. The decision has come as a setback to us but we are looking at all possibilities,” a BCCI official told Indian Express.

“They want their IPL team to be restored from next season. We will have to explore all legal options before saying anything more on this,” the official added.

Kochi Tuskers was formed by Rendezvous Sports World whose bid for the franchise was Rs. 1,560 crore. In 2011, when the franchise failed to submit a fresh bank guarantee for six months, the board terminated their contract.