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The State League
351 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 27, 2026
Prithvi moved from Maulsari to Goa and joined Goa’s Elite Sports FC for formal football training. Gautham Bhatia dreamt of a state league for football similar to the IPL for cricket and he soon gathered sponsors and approvals for the league with a promise for the players that this league will be their big ticket to sports academies from Europe.
However, age fraud follows this league as it does in the smaller leagues. There is also match fixing with fixers trying to influence the results by grooming young kids or by threatening them. With the politicians at the helm of the sports ministry pushing their own personal agenda for profits, a harmless angry remark by a Manipuri boy is taken out of context. The online trolls almost destroy the future of an upcoming star.
As Prithvi tries to figure out the mess happening around, will he able to rise above the hurdles and find himself, forms the rest of the story.
This is the sequel to The District Cup which captured Prithvi’s life in Maulsari and dealt with age fraud. This is a young-adult sports novel, but it works as more than a football story. The author uses the game to talk about friendship, loyalty, ambition, prejudice and integrity. The central dilemma, how much one should compromise to win, is a real one for the teenagers the book is aimed at, and the author treats it seriously without lecturing. Heavy subjects like match-fixing, age fraud, and the way outsiders from the North East are treated are handled with a light touch, so the book stays gripping rather than preachy.
The writing is fast paced and easy to read. The match sequences have real energy, with short bursts of dialogue and the sort of banter you would hear on a practice ground, and the characters speak in a believable, youthful voice. The dialogue also carries the tension between characters, so the story doesn’t rely on long explanations.
The black and white illustrations add to the story by capturing matches, characters and moments of tension, giving it the feel of a contemporary sports story. The inserted posts also make the world feel real and show how rumours, decisions and public opinion travel beyond the field. For a generation that lives on social media, this is a clever way to show how a controversy grows.
Overall, the story reminds us that doing the right thing sometimes matters more than winning. A thoughtful read that will keep young readers hooked and leave them thinking about fair play.
However, age fraud follows this league as it does in the smaller leagues. There is also match fixing with fixers trying to influence the results by grooming young kids or by threatening them. With the politicians at the helm of the sports ministry pushing their own personal agenda for profits, a harmless angry remark by a Manipuri boy is taken out of context. The online trolls almost destroy the future of an upcoming star.
As Prithvi tries to figure out the mess happening around, will he able to rise above the hurdles and find himself, forms the rest of the story.
This is the sequel to The District Cup which captured Prithvi’s life in Maulsari and dealt with age fraud. This is a young-adult sports novel, but it works as more than a football story. The author uses the game to talk about friendship, loyalty, ambition, prejudice and integrity. The central dilemma, how much one should compromise to win, is a real one for the teenagers the book is aimed at, and the author treats it seriously without lecturing. Heavy subjects like match-fixing, age fraud, and the way outsiders from the North East are treated are handled with a light touch, so the book stays gripping rather than preachy.
The writing is fast paced and easy to read. The match sequences have real energy, with short bursts of dialogue and the sort of banter you would hear on a practice ground, and the characters speak in a believable, youthful voice. The dialogue also carries the tension between characters, so the story doesn’t rely on long explanations.
The black and white illustrations add to the story by capturing matches, characters and moments of tension, giving it the feel of a contemporary sports story. The inserted posts also make the world feel real and show how rumours, decisions and public opinion travel beyond the field. For a generation that lives on social media, this is a clever way to show how a controversy grows.
Overall, the story reminds us that doing the right thing sometimes matters more than winning. A thoughtful read that will keep young readers hooked and leave them thinking about fair play.
August 31, 2026
I don’t play football; I don’t even watch football.
Despite that, I was sucked into yet another brilliant book by Mallika Ravikumar – The State League.
To be fair, considering how much I have enjoyed nearly everything she’s written, I expected to enjoy this one too. What I didn’t bargain for was how unputdownable the book would be, drawing me into its drama, emotion and layering.
Prithvi from The District Cup is back. He’s now being trained at Elite Sports F.C. in football-crazy Goa. He’s talented, ambitious and hardworking–-all characteristics that ought to stand him in good stead as the world of football rolls open before him.
But bring in age-cheating and match-fixing, and the picture grows ugly. First with bewilderment and then with utter shock, Prithvi discovers how murky the world of betting is, and how far-reaching. Match fixing isn’t restricted to huge matches with big stakes. It’s happening right before him, in tiny local matches being played by obscure teams.
Mallika Ravikumar weaves together a range of themes to present a sensitive, layered story. Set against the backdrop of the violence in Manipur, she shows us that match fixing is far more complex than it seems. When manipulators tap into the vulnerabilities of young children, who really is to blame? The child who accepts 20k to let a goal in, or those who cash in on illegal betting?
In a story rich with metaphors, we look at the multi-faceted world of sport.
“Football” is more relevant than “women’s football”.
Optics are more important than ethics.
Manipur is a powerhouse for Indian football, but most players can’t even name its capital.
Hard-hitting and compelling, The State League is an eye-opening read that beautifully handles heavy themes with the lightest possible touch. Through Prithvi, we feel the lure of the game, the excitement and the magic. And it is the thrill of the sport that keeps us reading all the way till the very last page.
Despite that, I was sucked into yet another brilliant book by Mallika Ravikumar – The State League.
To be fair, considering how much I have enjoyed nearly everything she’s written, I expected to enjoy this one too. What I didn’t bargain for was how unputdownable the book would be, drawing me into its drama, emotion and layering.
Prithvi from The District Cup is back. He’s now being trained at Elite Sports F.C. in football-crazy Goa. He’s talented, ambitious and hardworking–-all characteristics that ought to stand him in good stead as the world of football rolls open before him.
But bring in age-cheating and match-fixing, and the picture grows ugly. First with bewilderment and then with utter shock, Prithvi discovers how murky the world of betting is, and how far-reaching. Match fixing isn’t restricted to huge matches with big stakes. It’s happening right before him, in tiny local matches being played by obscure teams.
Mallika Ravikumar weaves together a range of themes to present a sensitive, layered story. Set against the backdrop of the violence in Manipur, she shows us that match fixing is far more complex than it seems. When manipulators tap into the vulnerabilities of young children, who really is to blame? The child who accepts 20k to let a goal in, or those who cash in on illegal betting?
In a story rich with metaphors, we look at the multi-faceted world of sport.
“Football” is more relevant than “women’s football”.
Optics are more important than ethics.
Manipur is a powerhouse for Indian football, but most players can’t even name its capital.
Hard-hitting and compelling, The State League is an eye-opening read that beautifully handles heavy themes with the lightest possible touch. Through Prithvi, we feel the lure of the game, the excitement and the magic. And it is the thrill of the sport that keeps us reading all the way till the very last page.
October 15, 2026
For Prithvi, football is not just a game anymore. It is the thing he has worked towards for years, the training, the matches, the hope of being noticed. So when the State League arrives with scouts, sponsors and the possibility of a professional future, it should feel like everything falling into place.
Prithvi is older now, back at Elite Sports F.C. and closer than ever to the dream of playing professional football. But underneath all that excitement, something is seriously wrong. Matches are being fixed, young players are being manipulated, and the people who should be protecting them are more interested in what the league can earn.
What's thought provoking though, was not simply the corruption. It was watching Prithvi realise that staying quiet can sometimes feel much easier than doing the right thing.
There is also his friendship with a boy from Manipur, which takes a painful turn when a controversy blows up around him. That part felt particularly relevant because it shows how quickly a young player can go from being celebrated for his talent to being judged, misunderstood and targeted outside the football field.
I liked that Mallika Ravikumar never turns Prithvi into a flawless hero. He is a teenager trying to make sense of adults, ambition, friendship and the sport he loves, all at once.
And football remains at the heart of it. The training, matches, team dynamics and sheer desire to play keep the book moving.
This is a story about football, but it is also about what happens when the desire to win becomes bigger than the reason you started playing in the first place.
Often it becomes that the hardest match is the one you have to play against the people on your own side.
Prithvi is older now, back at Elite Sports F.C. and closer than ever to the dream of playing professional football. But underneath all that excitement, something is seriously wrong. Matches are being fixed, young players are being manipulated, and the people who should be protecting them are more interested in what the league can earn.
What's thought provoking though, was not simply the corruption. It was watching Prithvi realise that staying quiet can sometimes feel much easier than doing the right thing.
There is also his friendship with a boy from Manipur, which takes a painful turn when a controversy blows up around him. That part felt particularly relevant because it shows how quickly a young player can go from being celebrated for his talent to being judged, misunderstood and targeted outside the football field.
I liked that Mallika Ravikumar never turns Prithvi into a flawless hero. He is a teenager trying to make sense of adults, ambition, friendship and the sport he loves, all at once.
And football remains at the heart of it. The training, matches, team dynamics and sheer desire to play keep the book moving.
This is a story about football, but it is also about what happens when the desire to win becomes bigger than the reason you started playing in the first place.
Often it becomes that the hardest match is the one you have to play against the people on your own side.
September 9, 2026
Mallika Ravikumar’s The State League is an engaging young-adult sports novel that successfully combines the excitement of football with questions of friendship, loyalty, ambition and integrity. The story follows Prithvi as he returns to Elite Sports F.C., hoping to prove himself, only to discover that the beautiful game has a darker side involving match-fixing, pressure and difficult moral choices.
One of the book’s strengths is its fast-moving, accessible writing. Football terminology, lively exchanges and short bursts of dialogue create the immediacy of being on the field. Lines such as “Chalo guys, warm-up!” and “Full fight again, boss” give the characters an energetic, youthful voice. The dialogue also helps reveal relationships and tensions without excessive exposition.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews