Every day, the BCCI and the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK) Indian Premier League (IPL) team are at the center of a dispute. In 2011, KTK participated in the IPL, playing 14 games and winning just six of them.
After only one season (2011), the BCCI canceled the franchise, claiming that the team had broken the terms of the deal by neglecting to provide a bank guarantee on time. But last week, the Bombay High Court mandated that BCCI give KTK INR 538 crore.
Following the shocking news, the Malayalam publication Mathrubhumi reported that numerous well-known players, including Steve Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, and VVS Laxman, have not yet received their complete and final payment from the Kerala-based team.
The first two salary installments for the players were reportedly paid by KTK. They haven't yet given them their third installment, though, which amounted to 35% of their salary.
"Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene, who captained the Kochi franchise, was the team's most expensive signing at Rs 6.80 crore. It is reported that over Rs 2 crore is still due to him-excluding accumulated interest over the years. Current England head coach Brendon McCullum, signed for Rs 2.15 crore, is still owed approximately Rs 75 lakh.
Other notable names awaiting payment include former India interim head coach VVS Laxman, Gujarat Titans assistant coach Parthiv Patel, Australian batter Steve Smith, and Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Even local Kerala players like S. Sreesanth, Raiphi Vincent, Prasanth Padmanabhan, and Prashanth Parameswaran are among those left unpaid," the Mathrubhumi report stated.
Following an arbitration tribunal's decision in favor of the franchise, the BCCI was ordered in 2015 to pay INR 550 crore to the now-defunct IPL team Kochi Tuskers Kerala, which included INR 384 crore to KCPL and INR 153 crore to Rendezvous Sports, by the Bombay High Court's finding. The BCCI later challenged the tribunal's ruling in court.
The BCCI terminated the Kochi-based franchise's contract in 2011 after it failed to complete its yearly payment. The franchise was originally bought for an incredible INR 1,550 crore barely a year earlier. The team eventually prevailed in their legal dispute with the BCCI, and the court mandated that the body pay them INR 550 crore.
"The jurisdiction of this Court under Section 34 of the Arbitration Act is very limited. BCCI's endeavour to delve into the merits of the dispute is in the teeth of the scope of the grounds contained in Section 34 of the Act. BCCI's dissatisfaction as to the findings rendered in respect of the evidence and/or the merits cannot be a ground to assail the Award," the court said in its ruling last week.
