CSK, RR likely to stay put until BCCI meeting

Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, the suspended IPL franchises, are likely to wait for the proceedings of Sunday's IPL governing council meeting before finalising their future courses of action.

The management of both Super Kings and Royals have been regularly meeting their respective legal teams over whether or not to file a review petition against the Justice Lodha panel's ruling, which bars them from being a part of the IPL's next two editions.

A Royals insider revealed that they would prefer to wait for the BCCI's immediate reaction to Tuesday's verdict before deciding whether to challenge it or not. He also hoped that following Sunday's governing council meeting, the BCCI would convene a meeting with both the franchise representatives to brief them on how they intend to tackle the impasse.

Even the Super Kings management is unlikely to make up their mind before Sunday's meeting, especially since the India Cements Ltd supremo N Srinivasan is to return to his hometown Chennai from Europe only on Saturday.

Justice RM Lodha on Thursday clarified that the BCCI still had the right to terminate franchise agreements of both the franchises, even though the panel's punishment was meted out on behalf of the BCCI to the two team owners. Legal experts believe terminating both the franchises is the most viable option for the BCCI.

Still, the BCCI is unlikely to take a drastic decision in Sunday's meeting. According to a governing council member, Sunday's meeting will be more about "taking stock" than "taking hurried decisions". He revealed that from the discussions he had been having with the BCCI hierarchy, he feels the board is in no mood to act without carefully considering all the legal implications of each of their possible actions.

IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, on the other hand, told various media outlets that the BCCI running both the franchises for two years by forming an independent group of former cricketers was an option under consideration. However, multiple BCCI officials ESPNcricinfo spoke to laughed the concept off, saying it was "impractical" and could lead to "numerous conflict of interest" issues.