diff --git a/.pipelines/cni/load-test-templates/validate-state-template.yaml b/.pipelines/cni/load-test-templates/validate-state-template.yaml
index 8f0ae209a2..e0a5a9ce0d 100644
--- a/.pipelines/cni/load-test-templates/validate-state-template.yaml
+++ b/.pipelines/cni/load-test-templates/validate-state-template.yaml
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 parameters:
   clusterName: ""
   os: "linux"
-  restartCase: "false"  
+  restartCase: "false"
+  cni: "cilium"
 
 steps:
   - task: AzureCLI@1
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ steps:
       inlineScript: |
         make -C ./hack/aks set-kubeconf AZCLI=az CLUSTER=${{ parameters.clusterName }}-$(make revision)
         kubectl get pods -A
-        make test-validate-state OS=${{ parameters.os }} RESTART_CASE=${{ parameters.restartCase }}
+        make test-validate-state OS=${{ parameters.os }} RESTART_CASE=${{ parameters.restartCase }} CNI_TYPE=${{ parameters.cni }}
     name: "ValidateState"
     displayName: "Validate State"
     retryCountOnTaskFailure: 3
diff --git a/.pipelines/singletenancy/aks/e2e-step-template.yaml b/.pipelines/singletenancy/aks/e2e-step-template.yaml
index 3bdab1d0f9..73ae925906 100644
--- a/.pipelines/singletenancy/aks/e2e-step-template.yaml
+++ b/.pipelines/singletenancy/aks/e2e-step-template.yaml
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ steps:
       # Remove this once we have cniv1 support for validating the test cluster
       echo "Validate State skipped for linux cniv1 for now"
       if [ "${{parameters.os}}" == "windows" ]; then
-        make test-validate-state OS=${{ parameters.os }}
+        make test-validate-state OS=${{ parameters.os }} CNI_TYPE=cniv1
       fi
       kubectl delete ns load-test
     displayName: "Validate State"
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9e9f238ca0..c095a38a6e 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -711,6 +711,8 @@ workspace: ## Set up the Go workspace.
 COVER_PKG ?= .
 #Restart case is used for cni load test pipeline for restarting the nodes cluster.
 RESTART_CASE ?= false
+# CNI type is a key to direct the types of state validation done on a cluster.
+CNI_TYPE ?= cilium
 
 # COVER_FILTER omits folders with all files tagged with one of 'unit', '!ignore_uncovered', or '!ignore_autogenerated'
 test-all: ## run all unit tests.
@@ -724,7 +726,7 @@ test-integration: ## run all integration tests.
 		go test -mod=readonly -buildvcs=false -timeout 1h -coverpkg=./... -race -covermode atomic -coverprofile=coverage.out -tags=integration ./test/integration...
 
 test-validate-state:
-	cd test/integration/load && go test -mod=readonly -count=1 -timeout 30m -tags load -run ^TestValidateState -tags=load -restart-case=$(RESTART_CASE) -os=$(OS)
+	cd test/integration/load && go test -mod=readonly -count=1 -timeout 30m -tags load -run ^TestValidateState -tags=load -restart-case=$(RESTART_CASE) -os=$(OS) -cni=$(CNI_TYPE)
 	cd ../../..
 
 test-cyclonus: ## run the cyclonus test for npm.