By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Congress MP Shashi Tharoor Sunday reiterated that he has no formal role or any involvement in the Kochi IPL franchise and his wife Sunanda Pushkar no longer had any “financial interest” in the franchise.
Tharoor also asked people to put aside their differences and put up a good team for Kerala.
“After all the efforts made individually and collectively to bring this team to Kerala, and the sacrifices some of us have had to make in pursuance of this dream, I would wish to do whatever I can to ensure that the Kochi consortium follows through on their commitment to each other and to the cricket-loving public. My only interest is in seeing the team succeed,” said Tharoor.
Tharoor, a Lok Sabha member from Thiruvananthapuram, Sunday visited the district Congress Committee office and reiterated that his wife had given back her shares of the IPL franchise.
“My wife now has no financial interest in the franchise. She had purchased some shares and that has been given back and she has collected the money. This happened months ago,” said Tharoor.
Asked about the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) secretary T.C. Mathew saying that if the Kochi IPL team is not registered as per the Companies Act in 15 days it would be difficult for it to take part in the next Twenty20, Tharoor said he would like to see all differences resolved.
“As a matter of principle I will not comment on private communications, I do wish to see any differences that may exist within the group resolved in the interests of Kerala cricket,” Tharoor said.
Rendezvous Sports World in March won the franchisee rights for the Kochi IPL team for a bid price of Rs.1,500 crore.
Rendezvous Sports World is owned by a consortium that includes Vivek Venugopal, a businessman based in and out of the state. Shailendra Gaekwad is also one of the owners.
Venugopal with other five companies has formed a group called Kerala Consortium. The others are Anchor Earth, Parani Development Pvt Ltd, Anand Shah Developers and Film Waves.