IPL spot-fixing case: Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals could escape with fine
Supreme Court-appointed panel is set to pronounce its sentence today
Chennai: The fate of two IPL franchisees hangs in the balance as a Supreme Court-appointed panel that probed a corruption scandal is set to pronounce its sentence on Tuesday.
While cricket circles are abuzz with speculation that the two teams — Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals — will be suspended for their officials’ involvement in betting on matches, sources say the franchises would get away with heavy fines.
An outright ban on the two former champions would be a devastating blow to what is only an eight-team tournament, and observers say former chief justice Rajendra Mal Lodha, who heads the three-man panel, is more likely to announce heavy fines.
The Lodha panel, who has also been empowered to recommend changes in the BCCI constitution, travelled across the country to interact and interrogate various stakeholders of the game such as BCCI officials, umpires, players and scribes.
Lodha was appointed head of the sentencing panel in January after the Supreme Court had found Royals’ co-owner Raj Kundra and CSK’s Gurunath Meiyappan guilty of betting on the outcome of matches in 2013. The court had rejected the claims of Meiyappan, who had previously been described as team principal, that he was merely an enthusiast.
The court also ruled at the same time that Srinivasan, who is Meiyappan’s father-in-law, would be banned from holding any post in the Board of Control for Cricket in India, where he served as the president for three years from 2011.
The outcome could have major financial consequences for some of cricket’s biggest names as CSK are captained by India’s ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni while Australia’s star batsman Steve Smith is at the helm of the Rajastan Royals. The Royals are coached by India great Rahul Dravid.
The 2013 IPL season was mired in controversy after police launched legal proceedings against several officials and cricketers, including former Test fast bowler S. Sreesanth, for illegal betting and spot-fixing.