BCCI asks Deccan Chargers to sort out mess in 14 days

MUMBAI: Worried about the implications of the financial mess at Deccan Chronicle Holdings and its bearings on the IPL franchise Deccan Chargers, the IPL Governing Council (GC) has given the franchise owners 14 days to sort out the matter.

The IPL GC had called for a meeting in New Delhi to discuss the issue after learning that the owners who run Deccan Chronicle newspaper have mortgaged the franchise to some banks in order to tide over the liquidity crunch that has hit the company.

According to IPL rules, team owners are prohibited from mortgaging their teams as it has the potential to put it in a jeopardy which will also have an impact on the IPL.

"The governing council today heard both sides--the franchise owners as well as representatives of the banks. We have given Deccan Chargers, 14 days time to sort out the mess and get back to us," an IPL GC member said after the meeting.

"If the issues are not sorted out within the next fortnight, we will decide on further course of action," he added.

The owners of Deccan Chargers are planning to sell the IPL team to raise cash to fund their debt. Religare Capital Markets has been mandated to find a new buyer for the team.

The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that the DCHL promoters have pledged their entire holding to ICICI Bank, Future Capital Holdings (Kishore Biyani has since taken the liability), and Religare FinVest.