Will Sunny factor help Kochi survive?

Why now? The timing of the revelation of the Sunil Gavaskar connection to Team Kochi has left many flummoxed. It could have been a ploy by the Gaekwads, one of the warring groups in the troubled consortium, to gain credibility and save the team from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) axe.

But the board is unlikely to let the Gavaskar connection influence its decision, although the purpose of Rendezvous Sports World Pvt Ltd (RSWPL) seems to be so. “We will go by the legal opinion,” said a member of the governing council of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Gavaskar himself was dismissive of the suggestion that the RSWPL had dragged his name to earn some kind of legitimacy and credibility. “I really don’t know the effect of taking my name for anybody’s credibility. It is for others to answer if it helps or does not help.”

The former Indian skipper told DNA that  Kochi deserve one more chance. “If I was a governing council member today, I would give them some more time to resolve their internal issues. I think getting a new franchise for this kind of money may not be easy… The BCCI will look at the merits and take a decision, I am sure.”    

Most members of the governing council seem to be in favour of a new auction if there’s a legal go-ahead. The council meets in Nagpur on Wednesday morning. The contours of the legal opinion are not clear yet, but it is certain that BCCI president Shahsank Manohar has roped in legal luminaries to find a way out. He himself is a renowned lawyer.

Gavaskar felt that the members of the consortium should be united. “They have spent a fair bit of money in the bank guarantee etc. So it is in their interest to be united to make the enterprise successful.” He was, however, not sure if they will be able to cobble together a coalition.

“To be honest I haven’t had much interaction with the consortium members to say with certainty about whether they will stay together or not.”

That actually is the problem with the Kochi investors. The BCCI asked them to speak in one voice and they gave two replies to the October 10 show-cause notice. A member of the Gaekwad faction declared that they would not settle for anything less than 25% share in the team.

“We will let the team go but will not compromise on our equity. Our stand is 12.5% paid equity and rest sweat,” a key official of the RSWPL told this paper on Tuesday night. It is not acceptable to the investors who want to spare five per cent sweat equity and five paid. There was no last minute talk between the two factions of the consortium.

“There is no end to their fight. The board cannot deal with them any more. If the legal opinion permits, the team is unlikely to survive,” said a member of the board.

The Gavaskar connection is well-known in the BCCI circle too, although Rajiv Shukla chose to say otherwise on Tuesday. “We were not aware of Gavaskar’s links with the Kochi IPL… This is for the first time we are coming to know about this. We will discuss the issue in the meeting tomorrow,” Shukla said.