Raj Royals may lose IPL franchise as Kundra admits to betting

As the investigation into spot-fixing in Indian Premier League cricket continues, Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said on Thursday that Raj Kundra, part owner of the Rajasthan Royals team, has confessed to betting on IPL matches.

While Kundra has not been arrested, his passport was seized on Wednesday after an extensive 11-hour grilling by the cops. In contrast, Chennai Super Kings 'principal' Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of Indian cricket board chief N Srinivasan, was arrested by Mumbai police on similar charges, but is now out on bail.

The Rajasthan Royals' IPL franchise is now in serious danger of being terminated, while the fate of the Chennai Super Kings also hangs in the balance. Gambling is a minor offence under the Indian Criminal Procedure Code, attracting a fine at worst. But under Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) rules, bringing the board or Indian cricket into disrepute can result in termination of the team's IPL contract.

A clause in the BCCI-IPL franchise agreement states that a franchise may be terminated with immediate effect if ''the franchisee, any franchisee group company and/or any owner acts in any way which has a material adverse effect upon the reputation or standing of the league, BCCI-IPL, BCCI, the franchisee, the team (or any other team in the league) and/or the game of cricket.''

Kundra owns a little over 11 per cent of the Rajasthan Royals. But Meiyappan's status is less clear – after weeks of investigation and grilling of suspects till they are char-broiled, police are still foggy about whether he owns a piece of the Chennai team or is just an important official!.

Commissioner Kumar told the media that Kundra has confessed to placing bets on his team winning. He indirectly admitted that Kundra had always put his money on his Rajasthan Royals and never betted against it, showing that he may have been a gambler but was not a racketeer.

Kundra is reported to have lost around Rs1 crore over the last three IPL seasons. Kumar also said that Kundra would place his bets through one Umesh Goenka, Kundra's business partner, whom the commissioner described as a "bookie".

Kundra and his wife Shilpa Shetty went back to Mumbai on Thursday as Delhi police was undecided on whether to slap the anti-gambling law him.

Police also revealed on Thursday that Kundra's wife, actress Shilpa Shetty had also placed bets in an IPL match. This was claimed by Umesh Goenka in his statement.

Kundra, a UK-based businessman, tweeted on Thursday night that he would make a statement today clarifying his position.

Both he and his wife Shilpa have been slamming the media over the last couple of days for what they believe is unfair reportage.