Title sponsor wants IPL issues to be settled swiftly

New Delhi: PepsiCo, the main title sponsor for the IPL, wants issues surrounding the cash-rich cricketing league be addressed swiftly and faith of cricket fans be restored in the game as spot-fixing scandal threatened to rock the league.

PepsiCo, which is paying Rs 396.8 crore for five IPL seasons beginning 2013, is reportedly worried about credibility of the league in the aftermath of two teams being suspended by a Supreme Court appointed committee.

"We remain committed to ethical conduct in sport and expect that issues surrounding IPL are adequately and swiftly addressed. The faith of cricket fans is important and needs to be restored in the interest of the game," a PepsiCo India spokesperson said in a statement.

The company spokesperson refused to comment on speculation that PepsiCo may want to pull out of the tournament.

"We do not comment on speculation. We have not seen the copy of the complete order and hence will not be able to comment any further at this stage," the spokesperson said.

Earlier this week, star-studded Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) were suspended from the IPL by a Supreme Court-appointed committee in a clean up of cricket hit by the 2013 betting scam involving their top officials Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra.

PepsiCo had pipped telecom major Bharti Airtel in 2012 to become the new title sponsor of the league, with a winning bid of Rs 396.8 crore, for the five seasons starting 2013.

Meiyappan, a former Team Principal of India Cements Ltd (ICL)-owned franchise CSK, and Kundra, co-owner of Jaipur IPL that runs Rajasthan Royals (RR), were suspended for life from any matches conducted by BCCI.

The IPL, which has eight teams now, could go in for inclusion of two more franchises under a new arrangement that could include players from the two suspended teams.

PepsiCo sells various brands like Pepsi, 7UP, Mirinda and Mountain Dew in India. It also sells snacks under Lehar, Uncle Chipps and Kurkure brands, among others.