Lalit Modi backs India's state T20 leagues but warns integrity must come first

Lalit Modi has welcomed the spread of state-run T20 leagues across India while warning that smaller competitions are the most exposed to corruption if governance does not keep pace

Lalit Modi, the founding commissioner of the Indian Premier League, has described the proliferation of state T20 leagues as a positive development for Indian cricket, but said the speed of their growth carries an obligation that many organisers have yet to meet.
Speaking to the news agency IANS, the 62-year-old argued that the leagues can widen the talent pool if run properly, and become a liability if they are not.
"I think state leagues are a positive development for Indian cricket," Modi said. "This was bound to happen as the IPL ecosystem grew, and if properly structured, these leagues can become an excellent pathway for young and undiscovered talent to perform under pressure, get noticed and potentially graduate to the IPL and higher levels."

A pathway, if it is built properly
State associations across India have launched their own franchise competitions in recent seasons, and several have grown quickly into televised events with significant prize money and outside investment.
Modi's argument is that the model works because it gives uncapped players a stage under genuine pressure, which the traditional domestic calendar does not always provide in front of an audience.
His qualification was immediate. "However, with the rapid growth of these leagues comes a serious responsibility," he said. "They must be professionally executed and very closely monitored by the respective state associations, with strong independent governance. My biggest concern would always be integrity."

Where the exposure lies
Modi was specific about the threats he sees, and the list was long. "Smaller leagues can become particularly vulnerable to approaches from bookmakers, match-fixing, spot-fixing, player manipulation, conflicts of interest, questionable ownership or financial interests and other corrupt practices if adequate safeguards are not established from day one," he said.
The concern is not abstract. Lower-profile competitions typically operate with less scrutiny, smaller broadcast footprints and players on modest contracts, a combination that has repeatedly proved attractive to approaches elsewhere in world cricket.

The safeguards he wants
Asked what protection should look like, Modi set out a checklist. "Every league should therefore have robust anti-corruption protocols, player education, strict control over access to players and dressing rooms, proper scrutiny of owners and officials, transparent contracts and payments, independent audits, and active monitoring of suspicious betting patterns," he said.
Several of those measures are standard at IPL level, where a dedicated anti-corruption unit governs access to team hotels and dressing rooms. They are not uniformly applied further down the structure.

A warning about who runs them
Modi also raised the question of who holds the power. "Do not allow cricket administration to become a private club controlled by a handful of individuals," he said, observing that expansion without governance "can very quickly become a liability".
It is a pointed formulation from a man whose own tenure at the IPL ended in his removal and a long-running dispute with Indian cricket's administrators.

Money and integrity
His closing argument returned to the tournament he built. "The IPL demonstrated the enormous value that can be created when opportunity, talent and commercialisation come together," Modi said. "The next generation of leagues must make sure that integrity grows just as quickly as the money does. Protecting the integrity of the game must come before everything else."
The comment lands at a point when the state-league season is at its busiest, with competitions running concurrently in several states and playoff stages under way.

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