The Deccan dream has come crashing down. The Indian cricket board, which had tried to find a financial solution to keep the debt-ridden IPL franchise alive, decided in an emergency governing council meeting on Friday to terminate the Deccan Chargers team.
Sources said the board will float a tender for a new IPL team that could be based out of Hyderabad. The decision would be formally announced on Saturday, after the IPL governing council meets again in Chennai.
Sources said the Deccan Chargers had committed a material breach of the IPL franchisee agreement by not paying its players salaries for more than four months now.
They said Deccan Chargers Holdings Ltd and private banks which had lent it money had shot themselves in the foot by not accepting PVP Ventures' bid of Rs 900 crore in an auction for the franchise. Yes Bank, one of the lenders, had offered a bailout package to pay players' salaries for IPL 5 nearly a week ago -- but the board had rejected the offer. Sources said the banks are still lobbying hard to retain the cash-strapped team, but it would be of no use.
According to an internal note circulated to all working committee member earlier on September 4, the board had chalked out three options -- get actively involved in the sale of the franchisee as requested by the Chargers, conduct an auction for a new franchisee or go ahead with just eight teams in the 2013 league.
Now the board will float a tender for a new team, preferably based out of Hyderabad. The new buyer would have to take in the Chargers players and settle the outstanding 2012 fees. In that case, the board would decide on a reserve price and the number of years over which the franchisee fee would be payable. "BCCI could choose to invite bids for other cities," the note said.
By terminating the Chargers' contract, the board would also benefit in many ways. "There would be an opportunity for an increase in the franchisee fee payable to BCCI in excess of the remaining Rs 200 crore to be paid by the Deccan Chargers. The sales consideration would be payable to BCCI and not the banks or the Chargers," the note said. The sale could offset damages suffered by BCCI in the Kochi Tuskers litigation, it added. "It's not helpful that they (DCHL and the banks) have tried and failed to find a buyer," the internal brief said in conclusion.
However, the final decision rests with the working committee members. As of now, the board's logic is simple. "If these banks are offering a bailout package to the Chargers, their intention is clear. They want to run the team," a top BCCI official said.
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