The Super Kings and Royals will be back for next year’s IPL

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will be returning to the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year.

The two IPL franchises were suspended for two years following a corruption scandal, which led to Super Kings official, Gurunath Meiyappan, being banned for life.

Royals co-owner Raj Kundra suffered the same fate as he, along with Meiyappan, were found guilty of bringing “disrepute” to the game.

“It is my privilege to welcome back our franchisees, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, into the 11th edition of the IPL,” IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said. “We have had a strong working relationship with Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals and hope that we can continue to build upon the close ties that we have enjoyed in the past, as we move towards the next edition of the league.”

Prior to being suspended, the Super Kings won back-to-back IPL titles in 2010 and 2011, while the Royals triumphed in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008.

Two new franchises – the Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions – featured in the last two editions of the IPL, but it remains unclear what the future holds for them.

In May, however, Shukla revealed that the two teams would become defunct.

“No extension is being given to both the teams (Pune and Gujarat),” Shukla had said. “The agreement was only for two years.

“Even if we make it a 10-team league, the two new teams would have to be freshly bid, so they (Pune and Gujarat) are not being given any extension or anything.”