The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) working committee on Wednesday has refused to cut down the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises fee for the two new teams, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors.
Earlier, both the teams had forwarded their requests on the basis that the BCCI did not follow the terms in the Invitation to Tender with respect to the number of matches to be played in the ongoing IPL tournament.
The two debutants had already paid 75 percent of the annual installment of the total fee and wanted waive off the remaining amount.
Kochi and Pune Warriors explained that as per their contract, each team was supposed to play 18 matches at home and away but the BCCI had now reduced the matches to 14. As a result, the total numbers of matches were trimmed from 94 to 74, in a bid to lessen the work load on the players. Sahara bought Pune for US$370 million, while Kochi were purchased for US$333 million.
Pune, under the captaincy of World Cup winning star, Yuvraj Singh, started the tournament with a bang, as they earned two consecutive wins in the opening matches against Kings XI Punjab and Kochi. While in the next three matches, they lost their form and faced three successive defeats. On the other side, Kochi, who are being led by Sri Lankan, Mahela Jayawardene, did not have a stable start but later developed their form and earned three successive wins over Mumbai Indians, KKR and Chennai Super Kings. They are currently placed above Pune Warriors with three wins out of their six matches played.
Media reports also revealed that the committee did not have any discussion on the issue of resting senior players for the West Indies tour after a long, hectic schedule. The Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, also opposed the tough schedule.
India will leave for the West Indies tour in June, which includes a Twenty20, five ODIs and three Tests while the ongoing IPL season, which started on April 8, will end on May 28.
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