The Telangana Cricket Association (TCA), on Wednesday, June 17, issued legal notices to actors Vijay Deverakonda and Venkatesh Daggubati over their association with the proposed TG20 League, raising concerns about the tournament’s regulatory status and alleging that celebrity endorsements could create a misleading impression regarding its legitimacy. TG20 League is Telangana’s first franchise-based T20 cricket tournament, launched by the Hyderabad Cricket Association to provide a professional platform for emerging cricketers from across the state.
The notices, issued through advocate Ram Kalyan Challa on behalf of the TCA, call upon both actors to disclose the nature and extent of their involvement with the league and clarify whether they independently verified the tournament’s regulatory approvals before associating with it.
According to the legal notices, the TCA expressed concern that the TG20 League is being projected as a “legitimate, fully approved cricketing competition” despite what it described as serious questions regarding “mandatory regulatory approvals, governance, financial transparency, player selection procedures, and compliance with applicable cricket administration norms in the state of Telangana.”
They warned that the actors’ public association with the league could create “a potentially misleading impression among young aspiring cricketers, sponsors, investors, media houses, and the general public that all regulatory, administrative, and statutory governance requirements have been duly complied with by the organisers.”
Among the concerns listed by the TCA are the alleged absence of mandatory approvals and sanctions, lack of transparency in franchise allocation and sponsorship arrangements, questions over governance mechanisms, and allegations that player selection processes may not have adequately reflected principles of fairness, transparency, equal opportunity and merit. The notices also referred to concerns regarding the representation of cricketers from rural and district regions of Telangana.
The TCA further contended that celebrity endorsements may fall within the ambit of “endorsement” under Section 2(18) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The notices stated that any representation that leads the public to believe that the league possesses valid regulatory approvals “may attract scrutiny” under provisions relating to misleading advertisements, including Section 2(28) of the Act and guidelines issued by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA).
The notices warned that if any “illegality, financial irregularity, governance failure, conflict of interest, regulatory violation, or commercial impropriety” is later established by a competent authority or court, questions could arise regarding the endorsers’ role in promoting the league. They also stated that continued association after being placed on notice could potentially expose endorsers to “independent civil liability for negligent misrepresentation under tort law” and penalties under Section 89 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Accordingly, the TCA has sought disclosures regarding any ownership, advisory, promotional or commercial interests in the league, verification of statutory approvals, and examination of concerns relating to governance, player selection and transparency. The actors have also been asked to reconsider and suspend their association with the tournament until all regulatory and governance concerns are addressed and publicly clarified.
The TCA has alleged that the proposed tournament does not have the required approval from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and has raised concerns over the role of celebrity endorsements in promoting the event.
The legal notices have sought responses from the actors within seven days from receipt of the communication, failing which the TCA stated that it may pursue remedies before “appropriate statutory authorities, regulatory bodies, sporting institutions, civil courts, tribunals, and investigative agencies.”
