"Greed is something that is human. The best of societies, the most developed of societies still have criminals." - Sunil Gavaskar © Getty

With two T20 leagues in the country - the Tamil Nadu Premier League and the Karnataka Premier League - embroiled in fixing and betting controversies, cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday (September 21) underlined the slippery ground the game was treading, saying there is no cure for greed.

"Greed is a thing which no amount of education, guidance, seminars with anti-corruption guys is going to help. Greed is something that is human. The best of societies, the most developed of societies still have criminals. In cricket also you will always have the odd person who will be swayed by greed. Could be some other reason that might force him to do something. That's something I don't think you can totally control," he said on the sidelines of an event.

With the advent of technology, Gavaskar pointed out that there was no place for cheats to hide. "I would imagine sometimes the circumstances make a player think 'I can get away with it'. But you can't get away. Because it is so covered by television, every little aspect... you will be exposed as having done something wrong."

While there is a greater danger of corruption in T20 leagues, Gavaskar stressed on the contribution of these tournaments to Indian cricket. "Look at the talent that it has provided from the districts. For example, the Karnataka Premier League, the number of people who have come from the interiors which otherwise even the best of Karnataka scouts couldn't have been able to see. Same with TNPL and all the other leagues that are happening. I think these leagues are very, very good. It is giving more talent to India cricket. Talent which would have otherwise gone untapped."

While the leagues serve as a feeder system, Gavaskar opined it is important that players are imparted sound anti-corruption education. "I think trying to educate these kinds, telling them what kind of traps they could be in would probably ease it. But like I said, greed is something nobody knows. Somebody comes from a very poor background and suddenly sees a lot of money, then you could be swayed."

Asked if better pay could keep players away from malpractices, the former India skipper stated, "I think remuneration should be pretty much according to where you are. In the sense that it should not be out of proportion to your skill set. But again it depends on the term that is used, 'market forces'. So you can't do much. Sometimes you are lucky, the market is good. But at the end of the day, even the guy getting the most amount of money can be tempted to do something. How does one stop that? That's human nature and you cannot predict human nature. So it's difficult."