IPL: Kochi and Pakistan players to be discussed by council

A decision on the Pakistani cricketers' participation in the next Indian Premier League and the fate of players of Kochi franchise will come up for discussion when the IPL's Governing Council meets here on Friday.

The council, to be chaired by IPL's new boss Rajiv Shukla, has a number of topics in the agenda.

Pakistani cricketers have not participated in the IPL since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and the council is expected to take a decision on the issue.

"This (participation of Pakistan players) decision has to be taken by the Governing Council. The members will give their views. It is not that Pakistan as a country has been banned in IPL," IPL chairman Shukla said.

Another major issue that will come up for discussion is on how to deal with the players of Kochi franchise, which has now been scrapped from the cash-rich league for breach of contractual obligation.

A number of top players like Mahela Jayawardene, Muthiah Muralitharan, S Sreesanth, VVS Laxman, Brendon McCullum and RP Singh played for Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the last edition and now face an uncertain future.

The Governing Council will take a call on these players on whether they could be included in the auction pool for the next edition and how these players could be compensated financially.

Apart from these issues, the GC will also deliberate on a variety of topics related to the functioning of the league.