The Governing Council of the Indian Premier League (IPL) today decided that only eight teams would participate in the fourth edition of the T20 tournament. It means the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has cleared the deck for the inclusion of one more team in next year’s tournament, despite two other teams being in arbitration with the board. Last month, BCCI had expelled Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) for alleged violations of the franchisee contract.
“The council’s decision to have eight teams in the next year’s tournament is a clear signal to the Kochi franchise to set its house in order before its deadline, so that they would be able to participate in next year’s tournament,” said a senior BCCI official on condition of anonymity.
BCCI had served a notice to the Kochi IPL consortium to sort out internal differences and work out the franchise’s ownership structure. The Kochi franchise needs to reply to the notice by November 27 or face termination.
The decision to have eight teams in next year’s tournament would be another blow to RR and KXIP, as it means their exit from IPL-4 despite taking a legal recourse. BCCI and RR have reportedly taken their dispute over termination of IPL franchisee contract to Justice B N Srikrishna for arbitration, while KXIP, too, has expressed its willingness to use his services.
Last month, RR had moved the Bombay High Court when BCCI terminated its franchisee contract, alleging that the former changed its shareholding pattern without informing BCCI. The board also terminated the contract with KXIP on similar grounds.
The council also said player auctions for the fourth season will take place in Mumbai on January 8-9, 2011. IPL-4 will start on April 8, 2011 and end on May 22, 2011. There would be a total of 60 matches.