No grounds for termination, says IMG

The Indian board's decision to sever its IPL contract with IMG continues to generate heat, with the sports management firm indicating that it might take the legal route to resolve the dispute, and three more franchises expressing their concern over the development.
Replying to the BCCI's letter on Friday informing IMG that it would not use any of its services following a disagreement over payments for the second IPL in South Africa, Andrew Wildblood, a senior vice-president at the firm, said that there were no grounds for the termination. IMG, he pointed out, had a legally binding 10-year agreement with the BCCI and would "reserve all of our rights and remedies at law under and in respect of the contract".
The issue will be discussed at the Indian board's annual general meeting (AGM) in Mumbai at the end of the month. The IPL governing council is scheduled to meet in Mumbai on Wednesday but that's expected to be a 30-minute meeting to ratify accounts and reports related to the second season.
The Indian board's decision has been opposed by the IPL franchises, four of whom wrote to the BCCI over the weekend expressing their disappointment at the unilateral manner in which it was taken and concern that the league's value will be diluted. On Monday, two more franchises - Deccan Chargers and Kings XI Punjab - sent similar letters to the BCCI, while Vijay Mallya, who owns Bangalore Royal Challengers, is believed to have spoken to Sharad Pawar, the former BCCI president, over phone. Chennai, which is owned by N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, is the only franchise to remain silent on the issue.
"These are all important decisions," Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood star who co-owns Kolkata Knight Riders, said on Monday. "All we want is to be kept in the loop. A lot of our sponsorship deals depend on the backbone of the IPL."
Srinivasan had claimed in his letter to IMG that its fee was disproportionate to the services rendered. IMG played a key role in conceptualising the IPL and implementing it, including drafting the Indian and foreign players' contracts, putting the logistics in place and managing the day-to-day running of the tournament. The BCCI claimed to have paid IMG Rs 42.92 crore (US$ 9.54 million approx) for the inaugural IPL edition, with the fee for the second edition said to be around Rs 33 crore (US$ 7.33 million approx).
Reports suggest that IMG's initial contract with the BCCI, which was signed in September 2007, stipulated a commission-based payment of 10% of the board's revenue. The contract was subsequently negotiated to a fixed retainer payment of roughly Rs 33 crore but this was objected to by some members of the BCCI's working committee, who are keen that the Indian board take over the running of the IPL entirely.