Sword of Damocles hangs over CSK, Royals

The Supreme Court’s verdict on the betting scandal during the sixth edition of the IPL has cast a shadow over the future of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).

On Thursday, the apex court set up a three-member panel headed by former Chief Justice of India R M Lodha to decide on the sanctions against the two franchises. The panel has a maximum of six months to take a decision.

The eighth edition of the IPL is scheduled to take place from April 8, but now there is a genuine possibility that Chennai and Rajasthan, both former champions, may not be a part of the tournament.

Since the Supreme Court found both Gurunath Meiyappan (CSK) and Raj Kundra (RR) guilty of betting, the three-member panel has the authority to scrap those teams. Even the IPL rule supports such a move. It clearly states that if a person – player or administrator – associated with a franchise engages himself in illegitimate activities like betting, fixing, gambling etc, then that team can be scrapped.

In that context, the Supreme Court order has put Chennai and Rajasthan teams in a spot. The auction prior to the IPL 8 was expected to take place between February 6 and 9 in Bengaluru, and with the future of two major teams in jeopardy, the BCCI has decided to call a working committee meeting at the earliest possible date to discuss the matter. 
They have to find a way to safeguard the players’ interest in the event the teams are scrapped. 

There are two ways of doing it. One is to put all the players from those two teams in the upcoming auction like the BCCI did when Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers were disbanded.

Second is the Sunrisers Hyderabad method. When the Deccan Chargers were removed after financial irregularities, the new management that took over the team only changed the franchise name while retaining all the players and most of the coaching staff. But, for all that, the BCCI will have to await the decision of the three-member panel.

The Supreme Court order has also made other teams jittery, as there is a chance of the auction getting delayed. 

Many franchises have already expressed their fears that if the auction were to be postponed, then their commercial partners will be reluctant to renew their ties or in some cases will even part ways.