IPL governing council refuses to allow Sourav Ganguly despite a team's request

The Indian Premier League's (IPL) Governing Council meeting lasted nearly four hours yesterday and dealt with a wide range of issues from the host venues for Pune, Kings XI Punjab and Kochi, the core issue of franchises signing capped India players who went unsold at December's auction, and a lot more. Here are the main items:


Sachin Tendulkar leaves the Board of Control for Cricket in India head
office in Mumbai yesterday. He and a few players met BCCI chief Shashank
Manohar to sort out ambush marketing issues during the World Cup. Pic/AFP

No entry
Team Kochi had requested the GC to allow it to sign the former India captain, but there was opposition from three franchises. However, GC decided not to make available unsold Indian players from the auction. Sourav Ganguly wasn't available for comment.

Slab system to go?
The GC discussed in length the possibility of getting rid of the slab system for uncapped players following Manish Pandey's four-match ban. Previously, players were to be signed for a considerably lesser amount outside the auction while allowing bigger bucks for capped players.
Pandey was banned for allegedly negotiating with certain franchises.