By Julian Guyer
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly insisted it was possible for the lucrative Indian Premier League to "get back on track" after two teams were banned following a betting scandal.
A panel appointed by India's Supreme Court made the shock decision on Tuesday to ban the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), led by India one-day international captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rajasthan Royals, skippered by Australia's Steven Smith, for two years from the lucrative Twenty20 franchise tournament to protect "the integrity of the game".
The panel also banned Gurunath Meiyappan - the son-in-law of Narayanaswami Srinivasan, the Chennai franchise owner and the boss of the International Cricket Council - for life from cricket-related activities.
A similar punishment was handed down to Raj Kundra, co-owner of the Rajasthan team and husband of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.
Ganguly, speaking following a meeting of the MCC World Cricket Committee on which he sits, told reporters at London's Lord's Cricket Ground: "That's the way it is. There was a committee appointed to decide the punishment and they felt that was the way to go forward.
"It's a Supreme Court judgement, the highest authority in India."
Ganguly who last played in the IPL for the Pune Warriors against CSK in 2012, said it was obviously not good news for the league.
"But I've always believed that a few wrong things here and there doesn't mean the entire tournament is bad.
"I hope the IPL recovers because it is not just about the off-field issues, it's the cricket as well which has attracted players from all round the world and made T20 cricket into such a great platform," the 43-year-old left-hander added.
"Hopefully it will recover and hopefully we will get the IPL back on track."
The 2013 IPL season was mired in controversy after police launched legal proceedings against several officials and three Rajasthan Royals players, including former Test fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, for illegal betting and spot-fixing.
AFP