The Indian cricket board's secretary, Narainswamy Srinivasan, said “the IPL governing council has confirmed that the Kochi franchise had satisfactorily responded to the notice issued to them.” The statement from Srinivasan said the team “would play in the IPL from 2011 onwards.” The governing council had earlier given one month's termination notice to the franchise in October following a dispute in the shareholding pattern. The decision was deferred after its promoters claimed to have resolved their differences.

The governing council sought legal opinion on Kochi's letters and affidavits before giving them the nod for the domestic Twenty20 league.

According to the new ownership pattern, the consortium includes Indian companies Anchor Earth, Parinee Developers, Rosy Blue and Film Wave, which will now hold a stake of more than 74 percent. The promoters - chief executive officer Satyajit Gaikwad and his family - will own less than their original 26 percent.

The details of the new shareholding pattern have not been revealed.

The decision means that the next edition of the IPL will have at least eight teams.

Meanwhile, two franchises who were thrown out of the league following allegations of breach of ownership rules — the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab — are still waiting for a court to rule on their future.

An arbitrator passed a stay order on Rajasthan's termination while the hearing of Punjab's appeal was stalled because the same arbitrator stepped down citing a conflict of interest because he had worked in the past for one of the co-owners of the team.

The fourth season of the IPL is scheduled to be held from April 8 to May 22.