Mumbai,Ahead of the second IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals to be played at the Brabourne Stadium on Saturday, there seems to be a lot heating up between the two franchisees that won’t just be restricted to the cricket field.
Royals may be miffed with their plans severely disrupted in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, who has been banned by the BCCI from playing in the IPL. However, they seem to be more disappointed in the manner in which the whole matter has been treated by the Board. In a letter to the BCCI, a copy of which is with the TOI, Royals have raised an objection saying that the franchise and the player have been penalised but Mumbai Indians, the team that approached Jadeja in the first place has been let away.
"As the player and the BCCI acknowledge, Rajasthan Royals have done nothing but support Ravindra Jadeja. We have increased payments, met all of our contractual obligations, and adhered to all IPL rules. Yet we are being penalised by the fact that our player was approached by the Mumbai Indians," team owner Manoj Badale wrote to Board president Shashank Manohar.
Meanwhile, Jadeja’s absence also poses the problem of missing out on a quality all-rounder in the IPL. Shane Warne, the Rajasthan Royals captain, has time and again harped on the importance of Jadeja in the team, calling him a rock star for the manner in which the 21-year-old has served the team’s cause.
Badale, in his letter, applauds the stance taken by BCCI where the Board has ensured that players need to respect contracts and rules. The action was taken against the cricketer when it came to light that he was reluctant to renewing his contract with Rajasthan Royals and in the meantime looking at opportunities with other franchises.
"While I applaud the stance taken to ensure that players need to respect rules, it appears that the punishment has the greatest impact on Rajasthan Royals. The consequences for the player are currently minimal (the financial impact appears to have been largely mitigated by his corporate contract with Reliance). Meanwhile, our team plans have been severely disrupted in the build up to the tournament," Badale wrote, asking the matter to be fully investigated.
Further the letter points out the manner in which the whole issue has come out over the last couple of weeks.
"Jadeja was misled and given bad advice. He was approached by another franchise in 2009 while still under contract with Royals. He was offered a salary of Rs 70k a month for ten years to work for Reliance. He was then asked about my expectations for payment for IPL and a deal of Rs 1.8 crore was agreed upon. He was told that the matter would be sorted out with IPL," Badale wrote.
He added that given a chance, Jadeja would now like to play for the Royals and Warne is looking to support him. "The punishment has impacted the Rajasthan Royals - not the parties involved in a clear attempt to break contractual guidelines," Badale said in his letter.
When the Mumbai Indians were contacted, their spokesperson said: "We are not aware of any such letter. We deny any allegation purportedly made in such a letter and condemn the attempt to tarnish our image. We have not received any communication from BCCI or IPL in this regard."
