India's Supreme Court has today announced that it intends to bar both the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from competing in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL).
The pair are currently under investigation in India, a case that has seen BCCI president Narayanaswami Srinivasan come under major scrutiny for his role in illegal betting and match-fixing.
"We are not removing anyone now, but Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will not be allowed to participate in the IPL which commences on April 16."
Srinivasan's son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, is at the centre of the case and has been charged with betting and passing on information to bookmakers by the court.
Thus far Srinivasan, who is due to become the ICC's first chairman in July, has refused to step down from his BCCI role despite calls from the court to do so in order to ensure a fair trial.
If the court goes through with its plans to ban both teams then the likes of India captain MS Dhoni and Australia's Shane Watson will miss out on IPL7 which this year begins in the UAE.
Without the Super Kings and Royals, major questions will be raised over the future of this year's tournament which has already been reduced to nine teams following the withdrawal of Pune Warriors India last year.
