IPL Verdict: CSK, RR suspended for 2 years; Gurunath Meiyappan, Raj Kundra suspended for life

The Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Panel suspended both Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra for life from any cricketing activities and suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from any cricket related activities for two years. Read more on IPL Verdict

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Speaking on Sundar Raman, the panel said that further investigation was needed in the case of the former IPL COO. When asked about if CSK and RR get new ownership, will they be able to participate in IPL, Justice Lodha said that will be decided by BCCI and then the panel will discuss about it.

The Lodha Panel found Meiyappan of misconduct of betting in the Indian Premier League (IPL) proven. The panel also found the first offender defence of Meiyappan baseless. Thus, the panel said Meiyappan is henceforth ineligible of participating in any cricketing activities and suspended him for life from being involved in any type of cricket matches and handed Meiyappan five-year ban in any cricket-related activities.

The panel also found Meiyappan guilty of placing multiple bets and has bringing shame on the image of IPL, BCCI and Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

Whereas, Raj Kundra was also found guilty of betting and hurting the image of the game. However, there was no allegation of match-fixing against Kundra. Rajasthan Royals were found to have damaged the faith of BCCI, said Justice Lodha.

Kundra thus was found ineligible of participation in any cricketing activities for five-years. He was also suspended for life for being in involved with BCCI in any form of cricketing activities.

The Lodha Panel also found India Cements not suspending or taking action against Meiyappan after finding him being involved of betting. The panel further said that BCCI suspending him is no way a punishment by India Cements.

India Cements, thus, was suspended from any cricketing activities for two years. And CSK was suspended for two years from any cricket related activity.

The panel mentioned that no quick action was taken against Raj Kundra when he was found guilty of betting by Rajasthan Royals. Thus, Rajasthan Royals was also handed suspension from cricket related activities for two years from the date of the order.

Earlier, the court had rejected the claims of Gurunath Meiyappan, who had previously been described as team principal, that he was merely an enthusiast. The court also ruled at the same time that N Srinivasan, who is Meiyappan’s father-in-law, would be banned from holding any post in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), 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 MS Dhoni while Australia’s star batsman Steven Smith is at the helm of the Rajasthan Royals. The Royals are coached by Indian great Rahul Dravid.

Cricket circles are abuzz with speculation that the two teams will be suspended, but leading sports writer Ayaz Memon predicted that the franchises would get away with heavy fines. “I can’t see them being banned because that could ruin the entire tournament and have a ripple effect on sponsors and broadcasters. There is too much at stake. My thinking is they will be fined heavily,” Memon told AFP.

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