The future of the Deccan Chargers hangs by a thread after a last-minute court order prevented their franchise licence being torn up.
On a dramatic day of developments for the beleaguered Indian Premier League side, the Chargers' inability to provide a bank guarantee of one billion Indian rupees by Friday's 5pm deadline, as ordered by the Bombay High Court on October 1, saw the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) poised to end the franchise.
But just hours before the BCCI pulled the pin on the Chargers, a Bombay High Court arbitrator ordered a stay of execution, imposing a status quo order on the matter on Friday evening, meaning the BCCI cannot terminate Deccan's licence for the next four days.
The status quo order came amid reports that franchise owner, the Hyderabad-based media group Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (DCHL), had arranged for the team to be sold to the Kamla Landmarc Real Estate Holdings Pvt Ltd in a deal worth 1,250,000 billion Indian rupees.Deccan won the IPL in 2009 after finishing last the previous season.