Indian Premier League Will Have Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals: Ranjib Biswal
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals grabbed the spotlight for the wrong reasons in the last 18 months when the Supreme Court heard the case of corruption in IPL 2013.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja could be wearing Chennai Super Kings colours during Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 scheduled to begin April 8. According to IPL chairman Ranjib Biswal, the governing council is going ahead with its plans and Thursday's Supreme Court order on two erring franchises is not going to throw a spanner in the works.
After hearing the IPL 2013 betting and spot-fixing case for almost 18 months, the Supreme Court on Thursday formed a high-profile three-member committee to probe allegations of corruption against Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals officials and players. Although the court has not revealed all the 13 names against whom there are allegations of corruption, Chennai owner N. Srinivasan has been barred from contesting Indian Cricket Board elections for conflict of interest.
The committee, to be headed by former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha, will have six months to decide on the quantum of punishment against the erring franchises. The Supreme Court has already found Gurunath Meiyappan (Chennai team official) and Raj Kundra (Rajasthan co-owner) guilty of betting. Meiyappan is the son-in-law of Srinivasan.
"The court order doesn't stop us from planning IPL 8. Chennai and Rajasthan are very much part of our plans and we will abide by what the court-appointed panel tells us. In any case, the panel's report is only expected after six months," said Biswal in an exclusive chat from Jagatsinghpur, Orissa. (Srinivasan Refuses to Comment on Supreme Court Order)
Biswal took over the IPL chairmanship last year after Rajeev Shukla quit the position in the wake of the match-fixing scandal. The 44-year-old former cricketer and president of the Orissa Cricket Association is one of Srinivasan's most trusted men and refuses to believe that IPL 8 will be played minus Chennai and Rajasthan.
"IPL will be played with eight teams. We will cross the bridge if at all we are asked to scrap Chennai and Rajasthan. So far, there is no such threat," Biswal said. (Supreme Court Makes it Bitter-Sweet for Srinivasan and his BCCI Loyalists)
The IPL governing council will meet on February 3 to decide on the date for auctions. Well before the World Cup starts in Australia and New Zealand on February 14, the IPL auctions will be done and dusted.
Biswal said IPL 8 will be played in India. "Despite the fact that IPL 2014 was played in the UAE, there was not a single case of corruption. The tournament is now clean and even the Supreme Court has appreciated the format," said Biswal.