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| Kochi IPL team |
The Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council Sunday decided to retain the Kochi franchise after its owners, in a last-minute agreement, sorted out their differences in the shareholding pattern.The decision was taken at the IPL governing council meeting here, Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary N. Srinivasan confirmed.
"The IPL governing council has confirmed that the Kochi franchisee had satisfactorily responded to the notice issued to them by the BCCI and decided that the franchisee -- Kochi Cricket Pvt. Ltd, would play in the IPL from 2011 onwards," Srinivasan said in a statement.
Satyajit Gaekwad of Rendezvous Sports World , which owns the Kochi team, told IANS that the Gaekwad brothers have decided to bring down their stakes from 25 to 10 per cent."Earlier we were a consortium. We will do everything to rise upto the expectaion of the cricket fraternity and Kerala cricket."We will ensure that the Kochi team is the best and we will work like angels to make it the best IPL team."
Kerala Cricket Association secretary T.C.Mathew was equally elated with the decision."We are excited about seeing Kochi in IPL 4. Rendezvous Sports World owned the rights for the Kochi IPL team for a bid price of Rs.1,500 crore. Anchor Earth, Parinee Developers, Rosy Blue and Film Wave hold 74 percent of the equity while the Gaekwad brothers, who own Rendezvous Sports World, own the remaining stake as free equity for services rendered in successfully bidding for the franchise.
