Despite the Kochi franchise missing the deadline on several occasions, the Indian Premier League (IPL) top brass waited patiently, it is learnt. The consortium that owns Kochi defaulted on an annual payment of around Rs 158 crore as a bank guarantee. "When they finally put up a unified front (to form Kochi Cricket Pvt Ltd) and formed an organisation, they were clearly told to submit a bank guarantee that covers the fee payable to the BCCI on an annual basis. And yet, they never abided by the rules.

Tired of waiting
"They didn't take our repeated notices seriously. We were tired of waiting. They were supposed to send us a fresh bank guarantee after the IPL season (in May). It was not done. It's highly unprofessional behaviour on their part," said a member of the IPL Governing Council.