BCCI suspends Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra

“Raj Kundra has been suspended pending enquiry from participation in cricket activities under the aegis of BCCI,” BCCI’s joint secretary Anurag Thakur said.

The board has received complaints from IPL against Kundra as well as against Rajasthan Royals Franchise, Chennai Super King (CSK) Franchise, and Gurunath Meiyappan. Meiyappan is a CSK principal and also the son-in-law of former BCCI president N Srinivasan.

Kundra, the 37-year-old British Indian entrepreneur, has denied any wrongdoing but his passport was seized and he has been ordered not to leave India.

“I am shocked and upset at the unilateral decision taken today by the BCCI and will fight the grounds of suspension,” he said in a statement.

“It is sad that without accurate facts, I am being made a scapegoat and put under trial by the media based on unproved claims,” he added.

Allegations against Kundra on betting comes a month after three Rajasthan Royals team players including S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan - were arrested for spot-fixing.

The players continue to be in custody and have been suspended by BCCI and their IPL team, but have denied wrongdoing.

“The management at Rajasthan Royals has a zero-tolerance approach to anything that is against the spirit of the game,” the team’s official statement read in May after the arrests.

Following BCCI’s suspension on Kundra, Rajasthan Royals’ CEO Raghu Iyer and chairman Ranjit Barthakur said: “The same rules apply to players, management or owners. Our actions will be consistent as in the case of the spot fixing allegations with respect to our players.”

Kundra is a minority (11.7%) shareholder, and he has no involvement in the running of the franchise, they added.