Kochi Tuskers vs BCCI: The IPL dispute that ended in ₹538 crore court blow

Almost 14 years after it brought the Indian Premier League (IPL) to Kerala — only to be terminated a season later — the ghost of Kochi Tuskers Kerala has returned to haunt the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), now with a legal price tag of ₹538 crore.
In a significant setback for the BCCI, the Bombay High Court has upheld arbitral awards totalling ₹537.5 crore in favour of the defunct franchise's parent company, Kochi Cricket Private Ltd (KCPL), and its principal stakeholder, Rendezvous Sports World (RSW).
Justice RI Chagla, delivering the verdict, dismissed the BCCI's petition under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, reinforcing that courts cannot reappreciate evidence or sit in appeal over arbitral findings. 'BCCI's dissatisfaction as to the findings rendered... cannot be a ground to assail the award,' the court said.
A team, a tax, a termination
The Kochi franchise—one of two teams added during the BCCI's 2010 expansion — was born in controversy and proved to be short-lived. Even before it debuted in the 2011 IPL season, the consortium behind it was fighting battles on multiple fronts: infighting among shareholders, a PR disaster over its proposed name ('Indi Commandos'), and threats of relocation after disputes over Kerala's entertainment tax.
Despite a middling on-field performance—six wins in 14 matches—the bigger implosion came off the field. KCPL failed to furnish a mandatory 10 per cent bank guarantee for the 2012 season, citing unresolved shareholding issues and regulatory delays. Still, BCCI continued accepting payments from the franchise well into mid-2011, creating what the court has now interpreted as an implicit waiver of strict compliance.
By September 2011, the BCCI had had enough. It terminated the franchise for breach of agreement, citing non-submission of the guarantee. Players were redistributed via auction; unsold ones were paid out of an earlier bank guarantee, which the BCCI unilaterally encashed.
Arbitral award, and its confirmation
In 2012, KCPL and RSW moved to arbitration, claiming wrongful termination. By 2015, the arbitral tribunal ruled in their favour: ₹384 crore to KCPL for lost future profits and ₹153 crore to RSW for unjustified encashment of the bank guarantee.
The BCCI challenged the award, arguing that the arbitrator exceeded his mandate and erred in awarding both profits lost and wasted expenditure—claims it said were duplicative and contrary to contract law. The Board also invoked provisions of the Indian Partnership Act to question the maintainability of RSW's claim.
The High Court disagreed on every count. Justice Chagla found the arbitrator's reasoning 'based on a correct appreciation of the evidence,' and reiterated that the court's role under Section 34 is not to second-guess findings of fact or contractual interpretation, absent a glaring legal error.
He further observed that the BCCI, by continuing to engage with the franchise and accept payments post-deadline, had effectively 'waived' strict enforcement of the bank guarantee clause.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

NDTV

27 minutes ago

• NDTV

"Did A Lot Of Gymnastics...": Ex-Cricketers React To Rishabh Pant's Viral Somersault Celebration

Swashbuckling India batter Rishabh Pant's perfect somersault after smashing a breathtaking century in the first Test against England has caught the fancy of his legion of fans, while former players felt the acrobatic act that has since gone viral was a statement of his "unique" ways. Pant hit an entertaining 178-ball 134, his seventh Test ton, as India amassed 471 against England under new skipper Shubman Gill on Day 2 of the opening Test here on Saturday. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri said Pant probably had been doing gymnastics from a very young age. "Nothing wrong in that. That's him. Let him be. You know, he's different. At a very young age, he did a lot of gymnastics," said the cricketer-turned-commentator. "Even if I might have tried it, I think I might have... (but) it would have been to go into the pool," Shastri joked in a video posted by BCCI. Pant was involved in a horrific car accident in 2022, which left him grievously injured and his return to professional cricket is one of the most heartwarming stories in sport. To perform a somersault like that after undergoing several surgeries is indeed awe-inspiring. "Rishabh being Rishabh, he does something unique. He does it really well. I think it was unique. No one expected him to do that. I've never tried it. I'll need a lot of practice because that is something if you haven't tried, you can't do it," said India batter Cheteshwar Pujara. Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik said he was in awe of Pant, as the wicketkeeper-batter was made of a different stuff. "Neither could I do the somersault like him, nor can I bat like him. I think on both fronts (keeping and batting) he has exceeded expectations. It's quite an effort to do that, actually. And he does it consistently," said Karthik, himself a wicketkeeper-batter. "When I was very young, my parents did make me participate in gymnastics and I did try and I was an utter failure at that. So, let's just leave it there because he (Pant) is doing it so much nicer when he celebrates it," added Karthik. "I think I've never seen anything like that in my life. With pads on as well. Amazing," said an English fan.

First Post

2 hours ago

• First Post

Jasprit Bumrah equals Kapil Dev's record after collecting 5/83 against England in Headingley

Pace star Bumrah equalled legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev's feat for most overseas Test five-fors by an Indian by getting rid of Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue in successive overs shortly before tea on Day 3 at Headingley. read more Jasprit Bumrah displays the ball after completing his five-for on Day 3 of the first Test between India and England in Headingley, Leeds. Reuters Jasprit Bumrah has been the standout Indian bowler in the since he got rid of Zak Crawley in the very first over on Saturday. He accounted all three English wickets that fell on Day 2 and later struck twice in quick succession shortly before tea on Sunday to finish with figures of 5/83. Bumrah added another feather to his cap on Day 3 of the series opener in Leeds with his 14th Test five-for. The 31-year-old, who had 205 wickets to his name at a stunning average of 19.40 before the ongoing match, equalled legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev's record for most five-fors in overseas Tests by an Indian – both having collected 12 each. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 𝗙. 𝗜. 𝗙. 𝗘. 𝗥 14th 5⃣-wicket haul in Test cricket! 👏 👏 Outstanding bowling display from Jasprit Bumrah at Headingley! 🔝 He now equals the legendary Kapil Dev for the most fifers - 1⃣2⃣ - for India in Away Tests! 🙌 🙌 Updates ▶️ |… — BCCI (@BCCI) June 22, 2025 Bumrah, who was a front-runner to succeed Rohit Sharma as Test captain until his back issues forced the BCCI to turn to Shubman Gill, completed his five-for by removing all-rounder Chris Woakes and Josh Tongue in quick succession shortly before tea on Day 3. Gill's last-minute change of heart allows Bumrah to complete his five-for Gill had initially picked Shardul Thakur to bowl the 99th over of the English innings in place of Mohammed Siraj before changing his mind in the last second and handing the ball to Bumrah. Bumrah promptly responded by breaching Woakes' defence with a delivery that nipped back in late and breached his defence, rattling his stumps. And in his following over, he beat Tongue's outside edge to rattle the off-stump and was promptly mobbed by Siraj and other teammates after achieving yet another milestone. The successive wickets ensured India went into the tea interval with a slender six-run lead, and it was especially his dismissal of Woakes, who departed for 38, that prevented England from not only moving into the lead but potentially crossing the 500-mark.

India Gazette

4 hours ago

• India Gazette

"He's been consistent since moving to no 5 slot": Shastri lauds Rishabh Pant's ton against England

New Delhi [India], June 22 (ANI): Former India head coach Ravi Shastri heaped praise on the team's wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant following his exceptional batting performance on the second day of the Leeds Test against England at Headingley.. Pant slammed 134 runs off 178 balls, which was laced with 12 boundaries and six maximums, scoring at a run-rate of above 75. Speaking about Pant in a video posted by BCCI, Ravi Shastri said, 'He's outrageous. I saw that from the first day I saw him. He's different from the rest. He plays on his own terms. At times, he'll play the numbers game. At times, he'll just do what his mind says. There's a package there that can be extremely dangerous in test match cricket. I think ever since he's come into that number 5 slot, he's been extremely consistent.' Further, the former cricketer went on talk about the boundary which Rishabh Pant slammed on his second ball of his innings on the bowling of England captain Ben Stokes to open his account. 'If you're 30 for 3, for example, you might be tempted to send someone else. But with him, he's so aggressive, he can turn the course of the game. For the others to make the most of it. The other way to look at it is, if he has got a platform like he got today, in this innings. Comes in after lunch, with a score in excess of 100. He can really make you pay the price for it because of the range of shots and the audacity. I mean, the second ball, how many people will hit Stokes down the ground, second ball? So, it's a message to the opposition. I'm not here to just fool around. I'm here to take the attack to you,' the cricketer-turned-commentator added. In the end, the 63-year-old spoke about the 209-run partnership between team India's captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Rishabh Pant for the fourth wicket in the ongoing first Test of the five-match series. 'I'm really happy for him because when you see where he was after that accident. And to come and get a 100 in the first test of the series. I know what one against Bangladesh is, but this is special. When needed, the first test of the series as vice-captain of the side, batting with his captain, they know each other very well. To get involved in that partnership, fabulous,' Shastri concluded. On Saturday, Pant overtook former skipper Rohit Sharma, becoming the team's leading six-hitter in the history of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) history. Pant's six count in WTC has gone up to 62, overtaking Rohit's tally of 56 in 40 Tests. The 27-year-old has smashed these sixes in just 35 matches, scoring a total of 2,386 runs at an average of 41.85 with five centuries and 13 fifties in his WTC leading six-hitter in ICC WTC history is England skipper Ben Stokes, who has smashed 83 sixes in 54 on Saturday also surpassed MS Dhoni to register the most Test centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter and continued his good show in what are regarded as tough wickets in countries outside Asia. Pant now has seven centuries, overtaking Dhoni, who has six Test centuries. This is also his fifth century in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) conditions, the most by an Asian batter. Three of these centuries have come in England and one each have come in Australia and South Africa. Also, he has equalled Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara (seven centuries) for most centuries in Tests as a designated keeper among all Asian countries. Earlier on Friday, Pant also completed his 3,000 Test runs, becoming the second Indian wicketkeeper-batter to do so after Dhoni and overtook Dhoni to become Asia's most successful wicketkeeper-batter in SENA on the basis of run count. In 44 Tests for India, Pant has scored 3,082 runs at an average of 43.40, with seven centuries and 15 fifties in 76 innings. His runs have come at a stunning strike rate of 73.69. (ANI)