Deccan Chronicle Holdings’ last ditch attempt to save its Indian Premier League team Deccan Chargers failed as the Bombay High Court on Saturday "stayed an arbitrator’s order that provided relief to the debt-laden company," according to Lalatendu Mishra of THE HINDU. Having lost the case after its failure to furnish a Rs 100 crore ($18.9M) bank guarantee before the High Court’s deadline, Deccan Chronicle on Friday "got relief as an appointed arbitrator issued a status quo order" until Wednesday. But the Board of Control for Cricket in India challenged the deal in the Bombay High Court, "which stayed this order." Soon after the High Court’s order, "a jubilant BCCI announced the termination of the Deccan Chargers franchise." The fate of the proposed sale of the Deccan Chargers team to Mumbai-based Kamla Landmarc Real Estate "hangs in the balance, as technically the team does not exist" (THE HINDU, 10/13). The AFP noted that Deccan Chronicle, which bought the team for $107M before the inaugural IPL in '08, announced Friday it had agreed to sell the franchise to a Mumbai-based real estate company. The owners did not reveal how much the deal was worth, "but local media reports put the figure at around $190M." However, Deccan Chronicle "still failed to pay the guarantee money by the stipulated time," and the court refused to extend the payment deadline (AFP, 10/13). REUTERS' Patrick Johnston reported Deccan captain Kumar Sangakkara said that the team, which also boasts South African player Dale Steyn and Australian player Cameron White, was "in the dark" about their futures but was "hopeful of a solution." Sangakkara said, "Players have been paid, and that's great. The franchise has ensured that they've always kept their word to the players and honoured all the contracts they have signed" (REUTERS, 10/14).
NEW BEGINNINGS: The PTI reported the BCCI "has floated a tender" that states the eligibility criteria and other requirements. The board began the process "of finding a new team by floating tender notices for a fresh franchise." The BCCI said in newspaper advertisements: "Under this invitation to tender, the winning bidder will be granted the right to own and operate a new team, which will compete in the IPL in each year from and including 2013 onwards and will have the opportunity (if applicable and subject to qualification) to compete in each and any CLT20, which is staged from 2013 onwards." The bids have been invited in respect of 12 cities: Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Dharamsala, Indore, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Kochi, Nagpur, Noida, Rajkot, Ranchi and Vizag (PTI, 10/14).
