The auction for expanding the initial eight franchises for the Indian Premier League was held on 22 March 2010. The cities involved were Pune, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Nagpur, Kanpur, Dharamsala, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Cuttack, Vadodara, Indore and Gwalior. Two new teams were selected out of 12 cities. Sahara Group made the highest bid in the auction and chose to base its team in Pune, at the cost of US$370m. Rendezvous Sports World made the second highest bid of US$333.2m, and elected to base its team in Kochi. The two new franchises were sold for a combined sum greater than the combined purchase price of the original eight franchises. The original shareholding pattern of KTK was:
The franchise was at the centre of controversies from its inception. The BCCI had given the franchise an ultimatum to dissolve factionalism and infighting between its shareholders. After a series of lengthy meetings the company sent a letter to the BCCI requesting more time stating that the negotiations were in an advanced stage and they needed some more time to be sorted. In October 2010, the BCCI announced that it would decide the fate of the Kochi team. The IPL Governing council gave the team a 30-day termination notice with the chance to resolve the issues and by December the ownership structure of the franchise was resolved. The restructured shareholding pattern was:
The franchise initially announced that the name of the team would be "Indi Commandos Kerala". This led to negative responses worldwide. The franchise management suggested that a move to Ahmedabad was possible, moving the team away from Kochi, due in part to a comparatively high entertainment tax in Kerala. This invoked a mass response on social networks, particularly on Facebook, forcing management to change the team name and logo. A poll on the franchise's official website eventually determined the team name. The decision to move the home ground was dropped when the Corporation of Cochin waived 50% of the entertainment tax levee.
Termination from the IPL
Due to a dispute amongst the team owners, the franchise failed to pay the 10% bank guaranteeelement of the franchise fee which was supposed to be paid before the 2011 season began. The BCCI claimed that it had sent several requests for payment to the franchise owners but received no response. On 19 September 2011, then BCCI president N. Srinivasan announced that the franchise was being terminated because it had failed to provide the bank guarantee. On 14 October 2011, the IPL Governing Council announced that there would be only nine teams participating in 2012 after the Kochi franchise was expelled. The players from the side were auctioned to other franchises in the 2012 IPL player auction. Players who attracted no bids had their salaries covered via the team's bank guarantee from the previous season. On 13 January 2012, the BCCI asked overseas players who had signed a contract with the franchise to sue the owners, with the BCCI included as a party to each case. In February 2012, Rendezvous Sports World announced that it would take the BCCI to court over its termination from the IPL. In July 2015, a court-appointed arbitrator Justice Lahoti ordered the BCCI to pay as compensation for terminating the franchise agreement. ESPNCricinfo reported that the franchise owners had requested the BCCI to permit the team to return to the IPL, in lieu of the compensation awarded by the arbitrator.
Team identity
Jersey colours
The jersey of Kochi Tuskers Kerala 2011 was purple hazes in orange T-shirt and orange pants. The team management had explained the selection of colours – orange for the highest run scorer and purple for the highest wicket-taker- the colours of the caps.
Sponsors
, a major Indian commercial bank in the private sector, with headquarters in Aluva, Kerala, was the principal sponsor of Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The tickets for KTK's home matches were sold through Federal bank branches and their website. The Ticket sales of Kochi Tuskers Kerala was officially started in a ceremony hosted at the Le Meridian Hotel Kochi, on 28 March. Soon after, the tickets become available at the team's official ticketing partner website kyazoonga.com. Lotto, an Italian sports goods manufacturer was the apparel sponsor for the team. V-Guard, an electronics company and AVT, a tea brand were the associate sponsors. Elite Foods, Parinee Developers and Anchor Earth are the other main sponsors.
Theme song
The signature song of Kochi Tuskers Kerala is composed by veteran film score composerOuseppachan. The music video for the song was filmed by Priyadarshan and his cinematographer Thiru. The song was shot at various locales including Paravur, Cherraai, Varapuzha backwaters and the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. It features almost all the leading players in the team as well as Malayalam movie actress Rima Kallingal.
Seasons
DNQ = Did Not Qualify
Result summary
Overall
By opposition
Home grounds
The two home grounds of the Kochi Tuskers Kerala were the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi and Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore. Five homes matches were held at Kochi and two at Indore. The Greater Cochin Development Authority completely over-hauled the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to cater for hosting IPL matches.
Kit manufacturers and sponsors
, a major Indian commercial bank in the private sector, with headquarters in Aluva, Kerala, was the principal sponsor of Kochi Tuskers Kerala. The tickets for KTK's home matches were sold through Federal bank branches and their website. The Ticket sales of Kochi Tuskers Kerala was officially started in a ceremony hosted at the Le Meridian Hotel Kochi, on 28 March. Soon after, the tickets become available at the team's official ticketing partner website kyazoonga.com. Lotto, an Italian sports goods manufacturer was the apparel sponsor for the team. V-Guard, an electronics company and AVT, a tea brand were the associate sponsors. Elite Foods, Parinee Developers and Anchor Earth are the other main sponsors.
