Rajasthan Royals’ termination stayed

The termination order for Rajasthan Royals franchise from the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been stayed by six weeks by arbitrator Justice B N Srikrishna.

Royals, which had won the inaugural IPL, had moved the Bombay High Court last month after they were axed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the team’s ownership pattern.

“It is a step in the right direction,” said the Rajasthan Royals after the stay order on Tuesday.

In the court the axed franchise and the BCCI had agreed to resolve their dispute through an arbitrator.

The BCCI had terminated the agreement with RR on Oct 10, saying it had changed the shareholding pattern without informing either the Board or the IPL governing council.

The agreement with another IPL team, Kings XI Punjab, was also terminated on similar grounds.

Earlier, Bollywood actor and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Shilpa Shetty (wife of industrialist and co-owner Raj Kundra) had said the BCCI should have treated them with “little more fairness” before taking the termination decision.