IPL turmoil as 2 teams banned
Print Edition
Indian Premier League teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two years and two officials banned for life by a Supreme Court-appointed committee following a corruption investigation.
The committee of three judges, headed by former chief justice Rajendra Lodha, announced its decision yesterday. The sanctions are binding on the Board of Control for Cricket in India but can be appealed in court.
The committee noted Chennai team principal Gurunath Meiyappan and Rajasthan co-owner Raj Kundra bet on IPL games or were in contact with illegal gamblers, “bringing the game, BCCI, and IPL into disrepute”. It also said the teams had to be responsible for their officials.
Meiyappan is the son-in-law of International Cricket Council chairman Narainaswamy Srinivasan, who had earlier been restricted by the court from running for another term as president of the BCCI owing to a conflict of interest. His company, India Cements, held a stake in the Chennai franchise.
Justice Lodha predicted the decisions of his committee would stand.
“The Supreme Court order says it is subject to any remedy in appropriate judicial proceedings, so a challenge is available in court. But since this is a committee comprising three senior judges of the Supreme Court, it is highly unlikely a court will interfere,” Justice Lodha said.
The committee said Meiyappan had regularly bet on IPL matches.
“The fact that Gurunath was an integral part of CSK and most people saw him as the face of the team, he ought not to have indulged in betting practices.”
According to IPL rules, a team can be suspended if its officials bring the tournament into disrepute.
The Supreme Court committee was formed in January to decide on the scope of punishment following an inquiry by a separate committee that found the clubs and both officials guilty.
Meiyappan, who was detained for two weeks by Mumbai Police in 2013 over allegations of spot-fixing, was cleared by a BCCI-appointed panel but a petition from the Cricket Association of Bihar led to the Bombay High Court declaring that panel “illegal and unconstitutional.”
The Cricket Association of Bihar then took the issue to the Supreme Court, which ordered an investigation into the conduct of Srinivasan and 12 others.
Controversy swirled around the 2013 IPL with former India paceman S Sreesanth and two other Rajasthan players being arrested on suspicion of taking money to concede a fixed number of runs.
Two-time champion Chennai is led by India’s limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni while former champion Rajasthan is led by Australia’s Steve Smith.
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