Doubt over Bravo, Smith as court ponders Super Kings ban
NEW DELHI, India (CMC) – West Indies Twenty20 stars Dwayne Bravo and Dwayne Smith have had their participation in the lucrative Indian Premier League thrown into doubt, after the India Supreme Court said Thursday it would consider banning the Chennai Super Kings from the 2014 edition of the tournament.
The Court said it would issue an interim order on Friday, which would also see Rajasthan Royals excluded from taking part in the glitzy April 16 to June 1 showpiece.
Trinidadian all-rounder Kevin Cooper plays for the Royals.
Both franchises are at the centre of an illegal betting and match-fixing investigation, which now threatens to disrupt the upcoming tournament.
“We will think very hard what can be done. Whatever order we will pass will be in the interest of the cricket,” said Justice AK Patnaik.
Bravo, a big-hitting middle order batsman and a wily medium pacer, has been a key part of the Super Kings set up since 2011. Smith, an aggressive opener, signed with the Super Kings for the first time this year, after a couple of seasons with Mumbai Indians.
Both players, neither of whom are involved in the investigation, are currently with the West Indies in Bangladesh as part of the T20 World Cup.
The Supreme Court on Thursday also proposed that Narayanaswami Srinivasan, president of the powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India, step aside so the investigation can proceed fairly.
Srinivasan heads the company that owns the Super Kings. His son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, who was also associated with the franchise, was found guilty last month of passing information on to illegal bookmakers.
In a hearing on Thursday that lasted two-and-a-half hours, senior counsel for the BCCI, C A Sundaram, said Srinivasan would voluntarily step down as president, until the probe was carried out.
Srinivasan is expected to become chairman of cricket’s world governing body, the International Cricket Council, in July.
The court was also told that banning the Super Kings and the Royals would disrupt the format of IPL matches.
