IPL credibility on the line

The international cricket players' union says the future credibility of the Indian Premier League could be hurt if it doesn't help those inadvertently affected by a betting scandal.

The Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals have been suspended from the lucrative Twenty20 competition for two years after their owners were found guilty of illegally betting on games.

Several big-name Australians are aligned with both teams, but their status is unclear.

Neither Cricket Australia nor the Australian Cricketers' Association wished to comment on the situation, referring instead to the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA).

FICA said it is trying to find out which players are affected and how, before it prepares any advice.

"At this early stage we need to determine what the implications will be for the players contracted to CSK and Rajasthan and to gather information from the players themselves - in particular, in regard to outstanding periods left on their contracts and any outstanding payments due to them," executive chairman Tony Irish told AAP.

"If the event is reduced to six teams, it obviously affects player opportunity to play in it and we hope that doesn't happen.

"It is also hoped that if the suspensions stand the IPL and BCCI (the Indian cricket board) will step in and assist players who are affected due to no fault of their own.

"I think that is important for the future credibility of the event with players."

Australian stars Steve Smith, Shane Watson and James Faulkner were among those contracted to the Royals for this year's tournament, while veteran Michael Hussey featured for the Super Kings.

Smith admitted he was very unclear where he stands in the wake of the upheaval.

"it was disappointing to hear about the Rajasthan Royals facing two years of being sidelined from Indian Premier League and I’m sure I’ll hear more about what’s going on there in coming weeks," Smith wrote in his exclusive column for cricket.com.au.

"I really enjoyed my time playing with Rajasthan, it’s been a good franchise to be involved with so I’ve got some decisions to make whether I go back into the IPL auction next year or have a little period off.

"So I guess that’s a decision I’ll have to look at in the coming months."

Meanwhile, India's stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane insists that his squad's focus is on two Twenty20 internationals against Zimbabwe and not the turmoil rocking the IPL.

Rahane is one of five affected players who could take the field against Zimbabwe in Friday's first T20, along with his Rajasthan teammates Stuart Binny, Dhawal Kulkarni and Sanju Samson, and Chennai seamer Mohit Sharma.

"My only focus is on these two T20s - I'm not thinking about the IPL," Rahane said on Thursday.

"If you represent your country, your only aim is to give your best for your country and win matches for them."

There was more bad news for Indian franchise cricket on Wednesday, when it was confirmed that the Champions League Twenty20 would be scrapped with immediate effect.

Asked whether the Indian squad had been speaking about the developments, Rahane said: "No not at all - we haven't discussed anything.

"We were completely focused on the third ODI on Tuesday, and with the T20s we'll just focus on the game. We want to give our best against Zimbabwe and win both games."

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