High Court relief for Deccan Chargers but players’ salaries in doldrums

Mumbai: The stalemate between the Deccan Chargers and the BCCI (Board of Control of Cricket in India) continues as the Bombay High Court adjourned the matter till September 24. The biggest casualty, however, are the players who will not be paid till the dispute is sorted.

Today’s ruling means the issue will come up for hearing on September 24. The High Court has asked to maintain status quo which means the BCCI cannot take further action till the pending hearing. This also means the they cannot float fresh tenders for a new IPL team.

The Bombay High Court has also barred the BCCI from encashing Rs. 33 crore given to them by YES bank, on behalf of the Chargers.

On Friday, the BCCI terminated the Chargers from the Indian Premier League, a day after they rejected the sole bid from PVP Ventures. The Deccan Chronicles Holdings Ltd moved the Bombay High Court seeking a stay against the decision.

A statement from the BCCI explained the reason for their ouster from the T20 Tournament. “On Thursday, despite the Bombay High Court appointing a court officer to act as Observer at the opening of the tender, which was conducted under the aegis of the BCCI to save the beleaguered franchise, Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd rejected the bid that was received in the amount of Rs. 450 Crores cash and an equal sum in convertible debentures. This was despite the bidder meeting the eligibility criteria of the BCCI,” it said.

The statement further said that on Friday evening, the BCCI received a lawyers notice invoking arbitration from the Chargers stating that they had not committed any breaches and even if such breaches were committed, the BCCI should not act to terminate the franchise till Yes Bank Ltd furnishes sufficient finance to cure the breaches.

“By this, Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd has clearly admitted its inability to cure its breaches within the time stipulated in the BCCI notice despite every bit of assistance from the BCCI. Since the month of May, BCCI has received repeated assurances that the overdue player fees would be paid; all of these promises have been unfulfilled,” the BCCI said.

“The Governing Council took note of the sudden change of stance by the franchise and also the fact that any further extension of time would seriously prejudice the interests of the players.

“Considering the stated position of the Deccan franchise to refuse to rectify the various defaults including payments to players, foreign Boards etc, as also the deleterious effect such conduct would have on the reputation of the IPL and the franchise itself, a decision was taken to forthwith terminate the Deccan Chargers franchise,” it added.