in the name of cricket, Sports and Youth Services Minister Komatireddy Venkata Reddy urged the Centre to ban the IPL matches.
Addressing the media here on Thursday, the Minister said that he would make a representation to the Central government and the BCCI, asking them not to permit the IPL matches.
Stressing that the Twenty20 version of cricket was not in the interest of the sport, he observed, ``it is only a game of gamble, an organised gamble."
The minister further alleged that the youth were losing money through bets. He said that apart from losing money, the very nature of the gambling mentality would have a very bad effect on the youth in the long term.