Dubai: It's been only a season so far, but the buzz around the Kochi Tuskers Kerala team is that a change of ownership may be on the cards. The new Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, whose entry was dogged by controversy in the initial phase, is reportedly up for sale.
While none of the stakeholders are willing to commit on the issue, Gulf News has learnt that the owners of the team — acquired at a prohibitive $330 million (Dh 1.212 billion) in the auction last year — have been in talks with a number of potential buyers to offload some of their stakes.
"As per the economics of IPL, each franchise should be ready to take into their stride losses of around Rs 1-1.3 billion annually for the first four to five years. This can be quite taxing for the present shareholders," revealed one of the highly placed sources in the team.
Sensational wins
Led by former Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene, the low profile Tuskers outfit did not acquit themselves too badly at the IPL IV. They pulled off some sensational wins and finished eighth in the final table ahead of newcomers Sahara Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevils.
The association with the team also proved a profitable move for stumper Parthiv Patel, whose form with the bat earned him a recall in the national team for the tour of West Indies after a long gap. However, off-the-field worries kept haunting them as their gate sales at the home venue of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium ran into problems due to a row between the franchise owners and municipal authorities. What also compounded their worries was the proposed new stadium — which was meant to be their new ‘home' — has been shot down by Union government on serious environment concerns.
The team has also sought a legal redressal — asking for a reduction on their franchise fees by 25 per cent from the Indian cricket board for a reduction in each team's number of matches.
As per the current shareholding pattern of the Tuskers, nearly 70 per cent of the stakes are held jointly by the Anchor Group and Parinee Builders, two corporate houses in India.
When quizzed by Gulf News over phone, Mehul Shah of the Anchor Group said: "We are still taking stock of the entire scenario and cannot comment on it. If something happens, it will be a business decision."
Matches in Gulf
While Shah was not exactly forthcoming on Tuskers' plans for the forthcoming season, he hinted that there could be a plan of the team playing some exhibition matches in some of the Gulf states — given the huge fan following it enjoys among the Non Resident Indians of Kerala origin. "Yes, we are exploring such possibilities," he said.
