Chennai, Rajasthan face two-year IPL suspension

Three-member committee also proposed life-time bans for two senior officials from both teams due to corruption.

chennai super kings ipl
The Chennai franchise is led by India's Test captain MS Dhoni [Getty Images]

A Supreme Court committee has recommended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals be suspended for two years from the Indian Premier League and an official from each of the clubs be banned for life from all cricket matches in the wake of corruption scandal in the competition.

The three-member committee, headed by former chief justice Rajendra Lodha, proposed the sanctions saying that Chennai team principal Gurunath Meiyappan and Rajasthan co-owner Raj Kundra had been found to have indulged in betting on matches and been in contact with illegal bookmakers, “bringing the game, BCCI and IPL into disrepute”.

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 Board of Control for Cricket in India owing to a conflict of interest.

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His company, India Cements, held a stake in the Chennai franchise.

“As the face of the team, he [Meiyappan] ought not to have indulged in betting practices,” Lodha read out from the verdict which also criticised the franchises for inaction that brought disrepute to the game.

“By regularly placing bets in IPL matches… he acted in gross violation of the anti-corruption code.

“He is suspended for life from being involved in any type of cricket matches.”

The Supreme Court had earlier said the panel’s verdict will be binding on the BCCI.

The committee was formed in January to decide on the scope of punishment following a probe 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.

The fixing controversy erupted during the 2013 IPL competition when a small group of players, including former Test bowler Shantakumaran Sreesanth, were arrested for allegedly deliberately conceding a set number of runs in exchange for money from illegal gamblers.

Source: AP