India T20: Is the boom of state leagues a case of one too many for comfort?

A visit to the Eden Gardens last week was quite an eye-opener for a casual visitor. It was a somewhat balmy Saturday (28 June) for the men’s league match of the second Bengal Pro T-20 League game at the Eden Gardens, with local boy Abhishek Porel, one of the upcoming stars who plays for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL, firing on all cylinders.

Riffing off the IPL, popular Hindi numbers blared from the PA system. The TV crew from Star Sports

included a stellar cast in itself, with Michael Clarke, Monty Panesar, Mohammed Kaif and Chetan Sharma. However, the biggest downside was there were less than 100 people scattered on the terraces of the gigantic venue.

Things improved on the final day when the Adamas Howrah Warriors emerged champions in a closely fought game against the Murshidabad Kings, but interest levels among the cricket-crazy public of Kolkata throughout the event were — to put it mildly — pathetic.

It was only after the opening day on 11 June, when Sunidhi Chauhan regaled the audience with her performance, that a thousand-odd fans turned up again.

NECO Master Blaster, winners of Vidarbha Pro T20 League

The eight-team league has been one among the surfeit of state T20 leagues throughout the country, with the schedule opened up by the BCCI after the IPL every year.

The Vidarbha T20 League in Nagpur has been a new addition to the bandwagon for 2025, joining the other state leagues that have been operational for a number of years now — the high-profile T20 Mumbai League, the Maharashtra Premier League, the Saurashtra Pro T20 League, the Madhya Pradesh League T20 and, of course, the long-running Tamil Nadu Premier League.

The Delhi Premier League, whose draft pick is scheduled for a 5 July reveal, could be the biggest of them all with its marquee players’ list: Rishabh Pant, Ishant Sharma, Harshit Rana, Priyansh Arya and Digvesh Rathi.

There is also a great deal of curiosity around some of the younger players registered for the auction: Virender Sehwag’s sons Aaryavir and Vedant as well as Virat Kohli’s nephew Aaryaveer are in the reckoning.

Still, could it be a case of one T20 league too many, for the state associations to actually cash in on the overriding popularity of this format?

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While a plus-point of the leagues is that the 90 per cent of the uncapped players participating are assured of an income (often to the tune of Rs 8–9 lakh), it must be said that the timing of the state leagues — soon after the audience has been fed a rich diet of top-quality T20 cricket in the IPL — surely acts as a deterrent to fans coming to the grounds.

Sourashis Lahiri, Mentor of Adamas Howrah WarriorsA number of spotters were present during our competition (Bengal Pro T20) as well. It’s only the second edition but we also hope to provide some players to IPL in due course

Speaking to National Herald, Tamal Ghoshal, CEO of Shrachi Sports — which owns the Shrachi Rarh Tigers in the Bengal Pro T20 League — admitted that this league is still a work in progress.

“Yes, the absence of fans for most of the tournament has been disappointing. It’s not unexpected, because the Kolkata crowd, by and large, is used to top-drawer competition — both at the international level as well as the IPL.

“To bring in the crowds, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) must consider taking the matches to districts as the teams are named after them.”

The Bengal edition of the league is one of the few that has a parallel women’s league from the first edition, with its matches taking place at a different venue: the Jadavpur University grounds at the eastern fringes of the city.

“There is definitely room for improvement on the organisational aspect of the women’s league,” remarked Ghoshal.

Incidentally, the state franchise leagues came into the spotlight like never before during the last edition of the IPL, as a host of newcomers who stole the show — from Priyansh Arya (Punjab Kings) to Aniket Verma (Sunrisers Hyderabad) — were picked up by the IPL team spotters during these leagues.

“A number of spotters were present during our competition as well. It’s only the second edition but we also hope to provide some players to IPL in due course,” said Sourashis Lahiri, a former Bengal stalwart and mentor to the champions, the Adamas Howrah Warriors.

The boom in the T20 franchise leagues has seen some of them feeding off the iconic cricketers from other states. Jhulan Goswami, for example, a brand ambassador for the women’s leg of the Bengal Pro T20 League, also doubled up as the brand ambassador for the inaugural Vidarbha T20 League.

“Starting a league like this is a visionary move. It’s not just about the competition, it’s about creating a pathway for the future,” said Goswami, the highest wicket-taker in women’s ODIs.

This talking up of the T20 leagues is understandable, but insiders in the BCCI feel that there should be closer monitoring rather than leaving their entire operation to the state bodies.

“There should be some diligence as to who are the investors behind these teams. There should be some quality control as well... For example, a parallel women’s league in Bengal is a great idea, but do they have sufficient depth in the pool of players to make eight teams?,” one of them said on condition of anonymity.

Surely these are points to ponder in the middle of the T20 leagues blitz in the country!

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