Lalit Modi chalking out plans to start Rajasthan Premier League

Lalit Modi, who changed the face of India cricket with the idea of launching the lucrative Indian Premier League back in 2008, has always shown a keen interest in Indian cricket. He might have broken all his ties with the BCCI but his penchant to come up with new schemes has not diminished.

The Rajasthan Cricket Association president is now planning a T20 league called Rajasthan Premier League (RPL), featuring recently-retired internationals along with young upcoming cricketers.

The idea isn’t as unique as the IPL was given the fact that Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have their own T20 leagues. However, the 50-year old’s constant moves in the domestic cricketing scene might make few people uncomfortable.

However, a top BCCI official has stated that even though Modi happens to be persona non grata for several in the BCCI it’s unlikely they will be able to stop the RPL.

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“They can host the league as it’s a domestic tournament and anyway they are hosting their own inter-district and other tournaments,” an official said. Associations from Karnataka and Maharashtra have been running local T20 leagues for a while now, with official sanction from the BCCI.

While they are yet to approach BCCI for a No Objection Certificate, RCA has been firming up their plans for the tournament. It is understood that RCA has been in talks with Ten Sports to broadcast its league – the deal will be finalised in coming few days.

RCA secretary Sumendra Tiwary confirmed that a T20 league is in the pipeline, and said it would give more exposure to the players in the state. “It’s in the planning stage and though nothing has been finalised yet, we will decide soon whether to have a T20 league or not. The talks are on,” Tiwary told The Indian Express. However, RCA officials are tight-lipped about the presence of foreign stars for now, they are not ruling it out.

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Tiwary also spoke about Modi’s involvement with the venture. “He (Modi) is part of it; after all he is the president of RCA. “Tournament acha he hoga, it will good exposure for the boys. We (RCA) have always welcomed experiments. We are conducting a pink ball four-day game in Rajasthan now, the second association to do it after Bengal. I and Modi are keen to have such kind of innovative ideas. After all having T20 games will give more exposure to the boys.”

As per BCCI rules, any association that wants to host a T20 league at the state level would has to first obtain an NOC from the board. The BCCI, which runs IPL, also mandates that only the state players play in the state T20 leagues, and doesn’t allow players from other states or countries.

Karnataka Association was the first to start a T20 league when Brijesh Patel started Karnataka Premier League in 2009. In 2011, it was suspended for two years when Anil Kumble became the president of KSCA, and it was revived when Patel came back to power in 2014. Maharashtra also came up with a televised T20 league and recently, Tamil Nadu have announced their version.

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Interestingly, local Twenty20 leagues have seen interest from men who are out of favor with the BCCI – N Srinivasan had launched Tamil Nadu Cricket Association Premier League last month. Unlike RCA, though, TNCA isn’t facing any suspension.