Premier League Cancels Two Franchises

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has yanked the Indian Premier League licenses of the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab for breaching their franchise agreements.

“The decision to terminate the contract of Punjab and Rajasthan franchises were taken purely based on legal opinion we received and the breaches committed by these franchises,” according to BCCI President Sashank Manohar. The breaches involved unsanctioned changes in shareholding patterns.

Royals had won the inaugural IPL tournament in 2008 under the leadership of Australian Shane Warne, who criticized the BCCI action on Twitter, “The royals gave young unknown Indian players a chance. 3 seasons ago royals won the first ever ipl, underdogs come good what a story, it helped give credibility to the competition !!! Now look. Such sad news for us and our loyal fans, shattering to all.”

The Royals are threatening legal actions against BCCI. Raj Kundra, co-owner of the Royals, said in statement, “The termination of the contract by BCCI is shocking. We are seriously thinking of a legal action

Lalit Modi, the fired head of IPL, in his own tweets charged the BCCI is “hell bent on destroying something that we as Indians are proud of — The IPL. So as to satisfy there personal agendas.”

Rajasthan Royals, owned by Emerging Media, was acquired for $67 million. Indian actress Priety Zinta is one of four owners of the Kings XI Punjab, which paid $76 million for the team.