Kochi Tuskers players still waiting for IPL 2011 payments
Brad Hodge of Gemini Arabians walks off the pitch following his team's victory during the Oxigen Masters Champions League match between Gemini Arabians and Leo Lions on January 30, 2016 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
|© Gettyimages
BCCI’s recent revelation about paying Mohammad Shami Rs. 2.2 crore for "loss of pay for IPL season 2015 due to injury”, has reopened a few closed chapters. Former Kochi Tuskers player Brad Hodge has requested BCCI to compensate the cricketers who played for the Kochi Tuskers franchise, back in 2011.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala was part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) during the 2011 IPL season, representing the city of Kochi. The franchise was owned by Kochi Cricket Pvt Ltd (KCPL), which was a consortium of multiple companies. The team finished 8th in the debut season and their contract was terminated by the BCCI a few months later for their failure to pay the annual bank guarantee. Brendon McCullum, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, Muttiah Muralitharan, Brad Hodge, and VVS Laxman were some of the high-profile players in the Kochi team and after the termination of the franchise, the players were placed in an auction.
The BCCI still owes me $400,000, and Mahela, who was the captain of the team, $500,000"
Muttiah Muralitharan
The franchise received some relief last year when the arbitrators appointed by the courts asked the Board to pay Kochi Tuskers compensation of approximately Rs 550 crore ($87 million approximately) for terminating the franchise agreement.
However, after BCCI’s decision to pay Mohammad Shami Rs.2.2 crore for missing IPL 2015 due to injury, former Kochi Tusker players have also come to the fore asking for their compensation.
"I see Mohammed Shami got compensated for injury during IPL in 2015 from BCCI. Any chance they can compensate the Kochi Tuskers players (sic)," tweeted Brad Hodge.
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© GettyimagesApart from Hodge, legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan also confirmed that the BCCI still owes him 40% of the monies due to him.
"The BCCI still owes me $400,000, and Mahela, who was the captain of the team, $500,000. I've written or spoken to the BCCI officials so many times in this regard, but despite many assurances on their part, nothing has happened. Overall, the BCCI owes the Kochi players more than $2 million. We're still waiting to get 40% of the money due to us. The franchise paid us only 60% of our share, before asking us to take the remaining 40% from the BCCI, since they claimed that the board had kept their guarantee money with them," Muralitharan told Times of India from Colombo.
"I've played in so many leagues around the world, but no board has done something like this. Like the players, the board too is supposed to honour a contract. It shows that they don't care for the players. They're just bothered with running the tournament.
"While guys like me and Mahela can still run our homes without this money, imagine the plight of the lesser-known players for whom $30-40,000 matter a lot. I've heard that some of the support staff, in fact, didn't get 80% of their dues.
I don't want to sue the BCCI in the Indian courts, because I know that the case will stretch for years
Muttiah Muralitharan
"When it comes to the IPL, the Sri Lankan cricket board leaves you on your own," said Muralitharan. "The BCCI doesn't recognise FICA (Federation of International Cricketers, headed by former Australian off-spinner Tim May), so there's no point in going to them, and I don't want to sue the BCCI in the Indian courts, because I know that the case will stretch for years," said Muralitharan, reported Times of India.
However, an unnamed Board official defended the BCCI for delaying the payment to the
"They're supposed to be paid by the franchise, and not us. The matter is in dispute, and we're hopeful that the players will be paid once the matter is settled in the court," an unnamed Board official told Times of India.
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