Stung by the controversies and scandals this season, the IPL authorities will put in place strict guidelines for franchise owners to ensure that the glamorous event’s brand image is not dented in future.
Although this year’s IPL drew massive crowds, it was rocked by a spate of controversies involving franchise owners as well as players and the furores ranged from molestation charges against a player to a scuffle between a team owners and stadium authorities in Mumbai.
The league’s boss Rajiv Shukla conceded that there were fears of brand IPL taking a hit due to the negative press but things seem to have settled down and he would ensure that there is no repeat by having a word with franchise owners.
“We are not going to protect any player. We will definitely take action against anyone found guilty and we will tell franchises also to be very careful about these things and that they should also keep a strict eye on the activities of the respective players and support staff of their side,” Shukla told PTI in an interview.
“In IPL 5, the main focus was on the cricket. We were more concerned about the organisation of the game. When I took over as chairman my aim was to maintain the sanctity of the game. The focus was on the game,” he asserted.
“I think the season was a major success because the game was successful. Whatever controversies erupted were not related to us. We haven’t got any police agency to look into the cases.”
Shukla said the IPL authorities are firm in dealing with any erring player and this has been conveyed to the franchises as well.
“Whenever anything is reported back to us by the police and we find that the players are guilty, we definitely take action,” he said.
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