The Indian cricket board terminated the Deccan Chargers franchise on Friday night, dashing the hopes of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team to somehow stay afloat despite the financial mess it finds itself in.

A senior board functionary confirmed to HT that the Hyderabad-based franchise was terminated at a meeting held in Chennai on Friday. The BCCI's Working Committee will now meet on Saturday to discuss formalities for issuing a fresh tender.

A day after the Chargers had rejected a lone bid submitted for the team, there was a media report that the banks to which the team owners had mortgaged the franchise had agreed to back it for a year. However, the BCCI official said a very serious view was taken of the rules flouted by the former IPL champions.

The strong decision by the IPL bosses was also based on the board's confidence that since the Deccan Chargers had committed a major violation of rules, the team would not be able to use any 'legal loophole'. The board official was referring to the legal tangle IPL got into with the Rajasthan Royal and Kings XI Punjab two seasons back.

Despite rejecting the lone bid of Rs. 900 crore placed by PVP Venture (a software company), Chargers seemed to nurse hopes of featuring in IPL 6. A report in the Deccan Chronicle daily, a subsidiary of the Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd (DCHL) - owners of the Chargers - said the bankers from whom the DCHL have raised loans by mortgaging the team, had agreed to back the team for the next season. The report said considering the possible risks involved in a long-term deal, rather than straightforward cash-and-carry terms, the team owners might have decided it was safer to go with the bankers.

"The bankers are reported to be in a position to satisfy all BCCI stipulations by making contracted payments to the players. A consortium of bankers has got together and come up with the proposal to fund the Chargers till season VI," the report said, quoting sources.

The banks and the franchise owners were pinning their hopes on the BCCI agreeing to clear the proposal at its working committee meeting scheduled in Chennai on Saturday.