Kochi franchise gets IPL go-ahead

New team debuts next year after overcoming ownership dispute.

MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League (IPL) cleared the new Kochi franchise to take part in the lucrative Twenty20 cricket tournament from next year, ending a long dispute over the team’s ownership structure.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which owns the IPL, had delayed its decision on Kochi’s fate three times after demanding its owners resolve a shareholding disagreement.

“The Kochi Franchisee has satisfactorily responded to the notice issued to them by the BCCI,” said BCCI secretary N Srinivasan after a meeting of the IPL Governing Council in Mumbai.

“It has been decided that the franchise Kochi Cricket Pvt Ltd would play in the IPL from 2011 onwards.”

The inclusion of Kochi means at least eight teams will compete in the fourth edition of the IPL, which is set to start on April 8 next year. Player auctions for the event are scheduled for January 8 till January 9. The franchise was bought by the little-known Rendezvous Sports World group for $333 million at an auction in March to add two new teams to the tournament.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2010.