‘Outraged’ Warne ’smells a rat’ behind Rajasthan Royals’ axing from IPL

SYDNEY - Rajasthan Royals captain-coach Shane Warne has said that his team is a victim of unfair treatment after being dumped from the Indian Premier League (IPL) over ownership irregularities.

Warne suggested that the Royals and Kings XI Punjab have been targeted for their close links to former IPL chief Lalit Modi.

“With the IPL exceeding all expectations, on all fronts, I find it staggering that the IPL has decided to throw 2 teams out… Why?? Is it because the franchises have done something wrong or is there something sinister behind it? Is there an ulterior motive?” Fox Sports quoted Warne, as having written on his blog

“To me the IPL must be transparent, open, honest, and, above all, fair to all teams! They need to treat them equally; no teacher’s pets!!!!!!” he added.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has terminated the IPL franchise agreements of Royals and Kings XI over ‘breaches committed by the franchisees’.

The decision was taken in an IPL Governing Council meeting held in Mumbai earlier this month.

It also issued a notice to the Kochi Team, and asked the franchise to settle its internal differences.

The Rajasthan Royals was acquired by Emerging Media group for 67 million dollars.

The investors in the team include Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, Lachlan Murdoch, Aditya S. Chellaram and Suresh Chellaram.

The first owners of Kings XI Punjab included Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia (Bombay Dyeing), Karan Paul (Apeejay Surendera Group) and Mohit Burman (Dabur).

The group had paid a total of 76 million dollars to acquire the franchise.

The Kochi Team franchise is owned by Rendezvous Sports World and Ashoor Namrood. It is one of the two franchisees added to the IPL for the 2011 season. (ANI)