IPL teams banned over betting scandal

New Delhi - A Supreme Court appointed panel on Tuesday has recommended two Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket franchises be suspended for two years following investigations into charges of corruption by their owners.

And two officials of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals franchises who were found to have bet on games were banned for life from any type of involvement in cricket matches.

They were also declared ineligible to participate in any form of cricket for five years, former chief justice of India RM Lodha, who heads the three-member panel, said at a press briefing.

Lodha said the Supreme Court, after looking into the charges and evidence, had found the officials had indulged in wrongdoing and asked the panel to determine the punishment.

The two officials are Gurunath Meiyappan of the Chennai Super Kings, who is also the son-in-law of the franchise's owner and International Cricket Council chairman N Srinivasan, and the Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra.

Srinivasan was former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and his company India Cements owns the Chennai Super Kings franchise.

Asked if the two teams could continue to play in the IPL if their ownership changed hands, Lodha said that decision was not a part of the remit of his panel.

The regular betting by the owners had tarnished the image of the IPL, the BCCI and the game of cricket, Lodha said.

The IPL, played in the shortened Twenty20 format, is hugely popular in India and the rest of the cricketing world.

The league that began in 2008 has, however, seen various allegations of corruption including spot fixing and kickbacks in television broadcast rights.