It is becoming all too frequent that cricket and corruption go hand-in-hand. These two foes have found themselves in the same circle once again with the news of two IPL teams, Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals both being slapped with two year suspensions.
Both teams were found guilty during an illegal betting and match-fixing probe that will likely see their players excluded from the world’s richest T20 cricket competition for the next two seasons.
IPL Stripped of Two Teams Due to Corruption Charges
Gurunath Meiyappan of the Super Kings (who also happens to be the son-in-law of Indian Cricket board chief Narayanaswami Srinivasan) along with Royals co-owner Raj Kundra have been banned from all cricket-related activities for life.
The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) have now been left with the struggle of how the IPL is set to work in coming years as many board members believe having just six teams will not provide the revenue in terms of sponsors, ticket sales and broadcasting rights to keep the tournament as a whole afloat.
A majority of BCCI members are under the impression the way forward would be inviting new potential teams to bid for the vacant positions, a decision that will lead to further complications regarding venues and the necessary infrastructure needed to host games. Allowing new teams to enter on such a temporary agreement will not sit favourably with investors. If they are offered the chance to remain in the competition post 2017 when the ban has been lifted, what will the fate be for the Super Kings and the Royals in terms of players and staff?
While Super Kings are merely a subsidiary of India Cements, meaning they can afford to keep their team on hold for the two years, the Royals are the primary business for their parent company. Without any source of income over the two years, the BCCI have concerns the Rajasthan Royals will not be able to sustain themselves for the duration of the ban.
There has been no official word yet on whether the players of each team will be present for the 2016 and 2017 IPL seasons but regardless of the decision, those who are at fault are paying a heavy price for their greedy, unethical and unlawful actions.
