Suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals Unfortunate: VVS Laxman on IPL Verdict

Former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman on Wednesday said the suspension of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) is unfortunate, but nothing can be bigger than the game of cricket. 

A committee headed by Justice RM Lodha suspended CSK and RR from the Indian Premier Leage (IPL) for two years. Subsequently, the committee also suspended their respective owners Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra from any kind of cricketing activities for life.

"Suspension of both the IPL teams is very unfortunate. There are lot of positives as far as IPL is concerned. No one is bigger than the game. And I think the focus is and will always be on cricket and cricket will be the ultimate winner," Laxman said.

"I am big believer the exposure that young cricketers get to share the dressing rooms with some of the legends in the game is just because of IPL. I think there are very few negative incidents in IPL, but overall I think IPL is positive for budding cricketers for the country," he added.

BCCI called an emergency meeting on 19 July and later they constituted a five-member Working Group, which will be chaired by IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla. Thereafter, the IPL Governing Council will decide about the future of the two franchises and create a road map to the IPL version 9.0.

"This is definitely not good for the brand IPL. But the amount of good cricket that we have seen in the last IPL, competitive cricket was seen being played. BCCI has formed a working group which will be taking a decision. It's too early to say and BCCI is the best body to decide over the course of the action and take this forward," the former Indian cricketer said. 

Laxman also stated that at this moment, BCCI should focus on getting the right man to coach Team India, be it an overseas candidate or Indian, it hardly matters. A coach should be like a captain of the ship. 

"It doesn't matter if it is an Indian coach or overseas coach as long as we get the best candidate to do the best possible job. It's important to get the most capable person as coach. A coach's role is not just about strategy but to maintain a healthy team environment.

"One person should be in charge of the team. Ravi Shastri has done very well with the team as team director. Coach or team director is important but a captain is the leader who will guide and runs his team forward," he added.