The IAC would serve to bolster India's position in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and its quest for a blue water Navy
Sourav Ganguly failed yet again to make it to the fourth season of the Indian Premier League after Team Kochi's move to sign for the former India captain was stalled on Friday. It is believed that as many as four of the nine franchises objected to the left-hander's inclusion in Team Kochi.
Satyajit Gaikwad, who has been eased out as spokeperson of the Kochi IPL team, speaks of the behind the scenes activity before and after the Kochi team won the IPL bid in an exclusive interview.
Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan on Tuesday said that he will miss his previous IPL team Chennai Super Kings and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni but is excited to play for Kochi franchisee, the new entrants in the Twenty20 league.
Seeking anonymity, a top Dubai-based industrialist told rediff.com, 'We are not at all happy with the proceedings leading up to the bidding. We were not taken into confidence by the IPL administrators. The picture has not changed even after the IPL governing council changed the disputed terms and conditions. It looks like they have already decided on the two teams.'
BCCI sources said that a similar decision in the case of another IPL team Kochi Tuskers Kerala a few years ago, at the insistence of former president Shashank Manohar, had backfired with an arbitration award favouring a payout of Rs 550 crore for the disbanded Kerala franchise on grounds of wrongful termination.