NEW DELHI: The Indian Premier League could shrink from 10 teams to seven next month after the new Kochi franchise was told Wednesday to resolve ownership disputes or be thrown out. “We have given Kochi 30 days to sort out their problems,” said Indian cricket board (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar after a meeting of the lucrative Twenty20 league's governing council in Nagpur. The Kochi franchise was bought by the little-known Rendezvous Sports World Limited for 333 million dollars at an auction in March to add two new teams to the existing field of eight. The dispute arose after the various stakeholders in the franchise failed to agree on a 25 percent free equity share for Rendezvous Sports. If the dispute is not settled, Kochi could join Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab on the sidelines. Rajasthan and Punjab were thrown out earlier this month for similar ownership issues as the BCCI, which owns the tournament, continued to crack the whip to cleanse the event of corruption charges. “The governing council received replies from two parties, the Rendezvous group and the other co-owners, and they both felt that the dispute still exists,” Indian board president said. “The cases are totally different. In the case of the other two teams, there was a transfer of ownership that took place without our permission and thus broke a rule. But this is a remedial breach and that is why the Kochi franchise has been given 30 days to sort out the matter,” Manohar said. The BCCI is looking to make a fresh start after IPL founder Lalit Modi was sacked last month following allegations of corruption, indiscipline and money-laundering, all of which he denies. Modi was also removed as one of the five vice presidents of the BCCI and as head of its marketing committee. The BCCI has registered a criminal case against Modi over the misappropriation of funds amounting to 4.68 billion rupees (106 million dollars) during IPL events. ICC wants review system The International Cricket Council (ICC) is hoping to convince India to adopt the Umpire Decision Review System as part of the world governing body's push to make the practice a mandatory feature of all Test series. At present, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not believe the system that allows players to challenge and overturn umpires' decisions is accurate enough and have opposed its use. However, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has expressed confidence that India would soon agree to use the system when the BCCI fully understood its benefits. “The majority of players across the world are convinced by the applications of the system and I am sure that in due course the BCCI will feel the same,” Lorgat told reporters Wednesday. “At the moment, they still have doubts about the system which we will certainly try and convince them of,” he added. “I am confident that the BCCI will join us on a visit to Australia to inspect the technical applications of the system and see the merits of it. We will try to convince them rather than instruct them.” Speaking at a function to announce an ICC sponsorship deal, Lorgat said the governing body believed it was best to maintain the status quo of allowing the host board in a bilateral series to decide whether or not to use the review system.
