Raj Kundra wanted to start T20 league in UAE: report

Facing allegations of betting in the Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals team owner Raj Kundra at one time had reportedly had been keen on starting a T20 League  in the middle-east and was urging the IPL to also be a part of it in order to prevent a dilution of their brand value. The Hindustan Times in a report stated that it has emails that document a conversation between Kundra and the then IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, in which the Rajasthan Royals co-owner had pointed out that that the Emirates were also set to start a T20 league with or without the BCCI’s support. In one email, Kundra is quoted as saying, “If we do don’t get the BCCI associated in some way with the middle-east league then the Pakistanis will come and make a mess of it with no financial gain to any of us and will certainly add to the dilution of our brand.” [caption id=“attachment_850457” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shetty and Kundra have been accused of betting illegally. Image courtesy: BCCI[/caption] However, Kundra was urged to stay out of the planned league and even warned that his discussions for planning and holding a separate T20 league could amount to a breach of the IPL franchise contract. Kundra, who has admitted to the Delhi Police that he had indulged in betting on IPL matches involving various teams, may also be facing an end to his IPL-team owning days with the BCCI to hold a meeting to decide on whether the contract with the IPL has been violated. The involvement of Kundra and Chennai Super Kings Gurunath Meiyappan in illegal betting on IPL matches will be the subject of a meeting to be held by the BCCI’s emergent working committee. The committee will decide on whether the contract with the two franchises has been violated due to the two team owners bringing ill repute to the game and whether the two teams should be disqualified.