Appeal on Ravindra Jadeja's ban rejected

Ravindra Jadeja's hopes of featuring in the IPL have vanished after a last-minute appeal was rejected by the league's Governing Council. At the outset of the meeting, held in Mumbai to discuss the tender process for the two new franchises, Niranjan Shah, the IPL vice-chairman, appealed to the BCCI president Shashank Manohar to remove the one-year ban imposed on Jadeja. But Manohar reportedly declined the plea and Jadeja will have to sit out the current season.

Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, had indicated a few days ago that the Jadeja matter was beyond him and Manohar had the discretion to take the final decision. "He [Manohar] did not want to set a wrong precedent, so he dismissed the request. So Jadeja now cannot play in the IPL (this year)" an IPL official said. According to the IPL, the allrounder was being punished for violating the IPL's terms and conditions, trying to negotiate outside his contract with Rajasthan Royals.

Incidentally, Jadeja had pleaded his innocence saying that he had sought prior approval from the BCCI, before deciding to negotiate with other franchises. In his letter to the BCCI, reportedly written two weeks before Saturday's ban, Jadeja said his contract with Rajasthan had expired on December 31, 2009 and that they did not give him any indications they were going to renew his contract.

Shah, who also is the president of the Saurashtra Cricket Association, the state that Jadeja represents in domestic cricket, had earlier written to the BCCI, requesting a reduction in the ban to a few games. He checked again with the Governing Council on Sunday, but it was rejected.