BCCI red-faced after Bombay HC orders it to compensate erstwhile Deccan Chargers: Report

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) lost an arbitration decision to the now-defunct Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Deccan Chargers on Friday, July 17. The T20 franchise was in a long-standing dispute with the Indian board over its alleged illegal termination from the IPL. The Bombay High Court-appointed arbitrator awarded Deccan Chargers’ owners Deccan Chargers Holding Ltd (DCHL) Rs. 4,800 crore in its dispute against the BCCI.

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Arbitration setback for BCCI over Deccan Chargers Holding Ltd

Deccan Chargers were one of the original eight franchises of IPL 2008, i.e. the inaugural edition of the tournament. The termination of the Hyderabad-based franchise occurred in 2012 over alleged grounds of “irremediable breaches” by the BCCI. Deccan Chargers Holding Ltd immediately challenged the termination by BCCI after the Indian board alleged that the franchise had not paid many of their players and banks (creditors of the franchise) with collective dues of over Rs. 4,000 crore.

In September 2012, the Bombay High Court had then appointed retired Supreme Court Justice CK Thakkar as the sole arbitrator to settle the dispute between the two bodies. After the arbitration verdict was made on Friday, the BCCI is expected to appeal against the decision as stated by the lawyers associated with the matter. BCCI officials refused to comment on the outcome.

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V Shankar, former chairman of Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures, recently gave his take on the arbitration result. While speaking with Hindustan Times, he said that he was far from surprised by the outcome. According to V Shankar, such a result was not unexpected because BCCI had issued Deccan Chargers’ termination in 2012 “without any basis”. He also added that the termination was made by the Indian board just to accommodate another owner who had expressed interest in owning an IPL franchise.

Introduction of SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) into the IPL

After Deccan Chargers’ termination in 2012, the BCCI sold the rights for the Hyderabad-based T20 team to SRH for the following season. The SRH side continues to remain one of the teams in the tournament and they are set to appear in the now-postponed IPL 2020 season as well.

BCCI and its history of arbitration setbacks

The BCCI also suffered a similar arbitration fate against the now-defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala in 2017. The franchise, a consortium of multiple companies including Kochi Cricket Pvt Ltd, faced termination in late 2011. The BCCI was then asked to pay a sum of Rs. 850 crore to Kochi Tuskers Kerala owners in 2017 after a long-standing dispute. However, no payments have been made as of now.

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Image courtesy: IPLT20.com