Didn’t know of Sunny’s Kochi link, says BCCI

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) says it was not aware that former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had links to the consortium behind the Kochi team in the Indian Premier League and plans to discuss the issue on Wednesday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) says it was not aware that former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had links to the consortium behind the Kochi team in the Indian Premier League and plans to discuss the issue on Wednesday. Gavaskar is head of the

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BCCI’s technical committee and was a paid member of the IPL governing council till a month ago.

On Tuesday, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla said: “We were not aware of Gavaskar's links with [the] Kochi IPL [team].

This is the first time we have come to know of this. We will discuss the issue tomorrow (Wednesday).” Gavaskar, who said that he was offered the position of director of cricket operations for the franchise, was apparently advising the consortium from the beginning.

“They are a cricket loving family and wanted to get involved in the IPL,” Gavaskar told Hindustan Times in an email on Tuesday. “Mind you, there have been big film stars and real estate barons who have also discussed with me about buying a franchise. I told them all the same thing. ‘It’s a great league, a wonderful tournament but your bid has to be bigger than the others to get a franchise.’ As simple as that.”

If he had already accepted the offer, something that Gavaskar denied, saying, “there is no formal approach in writing”, a section of the BCCI feels it was “cheated” by the batting legend. “If he was involved actively with them even before they won the team, he should have first let us know about it,” a BCCI official, preferring anonymity, said.

“Then, he should have opted out of the technical decision making process. For instance, he had a say in the number of players to be retained by existing teams ahead of the fresh player auction.”