Former Indian Premier League champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) have been suspended from the tournament for two years after team officials were found guilty of illegally betting on matches by a Supreme Court-appointed panel on Tuesday.
In what is Indian cricket’s biggest corruption scandal, CSK’s Gurunath Meiyappan and RR co-owner Raj Kundra have been suspended for life from cricket related activities, former chief justice Rajendra Mal Lodha, who headed the three-man Supreme Court panel, announced in the verdict.
“Their conduct has affected the image of the game, the players and others associated with the tournament,” Lodha told reporters while revealing his panel’s verdict.
Asked about the financial losses of players from the two teams, Lodha said: “We did not consider financial losses to players and teams. That is not significant. The integrity of the game is what matters.”
The ban on CSK, captained by Indian skipper MS Dhoni and a franchise of India Cements of which the managing director is International Cricket Council chairman Narayanaswami Srinivasan, will be a devastating blow to the eight-team tournament and is likely to have major repercussions on the game of cricket.