IPL: Deccan Chargers likely to survive but BCCI to take final call

The Hyderabad-based Deccan Chargers is likely to survive in the Indian Premier League as YES Bank, one of its lenders, has agreed to bail them out by paying the players' salaries for Season 5.

The Chargers have to pay nearly Rs 36 crore rupees to their players by Saturday, a deadline given to them by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Yes Bank, who are part of the 28 lenders to whom the team was mortgaged to, has now agreed to pay off the salaries in a bid to keep the team intact for this season.

With the problem of salaries being solved, the franchise will now wait for a better valuation from the buyers. However, no new tender will be floated for now.

However, the final call on the future of the Deccan Chargers will still be taken by the Indian Cricket Board. The decision will be made in the BCCI Working Committee meeting tomorrow.

Yesterday, the Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited rejected the only bid it received from the PVP Ventures of Rs 900 crore on the basis of the payment terms offered by them. They refused PVP's offer of Rs 450 crore in cash and the rest in convertible debentures as the team's bankers wanted more guarantee in terms of cash.

The BCCI said the PVP Ventures offer met its eligibility and suitability criteria but was it was unacceptable to the DCHL.

"The bid that was received by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited met the BCCI's eligibility and suitability criteria.

The BCCI later issued a press release and said the Board had no role in Chargers' decision to reject the bid.

"The bid was then reviewed by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited who, in its discretion and with no role being played by BCCI, rejected the bid on the basis of the payment terms offered by the bidder," a BCCI release said.

The Deccan Chargers also reiterated it. "Price and terms are not acceptable," they said.

Asked if a new tender will be floated since the lone bid has been rejected, Srinivasan said, "You have to ask Deccan Chargers, now it's upto them. The franchise is on (exist). The BCCI has issued a notice to the franchise to clear certain defects. We have given them some time, but that is between BCCI and the franchise."