NE SPORTS BUREAU
CHENNAI, FEB 23
The Shriram Capital Tamil Nadu Premier League, an initiative of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, had its first-ever player auction in its history. The two-day TNPL 2023 player auction commenced at the ITC Welcome Hotel, Mahabalipuram, Chennai here on Thursday.
- Lyca Kovai Kings Rope in Sai Sudarshan for a record Rs 21.6 Lakhs.
- Shivam Singh, who was sold to Dindigul Dragons for Rs 15.95 lakhs
- A total of 943 players go under the hammer in the League’s first-ever auction spread across two days.
- The big names at the auction are Washington Sundar, Dinesh Karthik, Sai Kishore, and others.
- The auction is being held on the 23rd and 24th of February 2023 at Mahabalipuram.
- As eight teams are preparing for the auction, big names like Ravichandran Ashwin, Narayan Jagadeesan, and Shahrukh Khan have all been retained by their respective franchises.
The league had its players selected through the drafting process up until the 2022 edition, but the 7th season of the Shriram Capital TNPL would have a player auction similar to the IPL making it a global event this year.
On the first day, the auction for players from categories A, B, C and D commenced at noon, with Abhinav Mukund hosting alongside auctioneer Charu Sharma
Price Category:
The 8 teams participating in the Shriram Capital TNPL 2023 have already submitted their retention list, with all the teams choosing to retain at least one or two players. A total of 943 players signed up for the auction and are divided into 4 categories, each with its own base price.
Category A contains players who have played international matches
Category B contains players who have played Domestic matches (recognized by the BCCI).
Category C players who have played over 30 TNPL matches
Category D are those who do not fall under any of the earlier categories but registered in Shriram Capital TNPL auction.
Each team in the auction has a total purse value of Rs 70 Lakhs to buy a minimum of 16 to a maximum of 20 players per side.
Auction Day 1 Highlights
All the representative personnel of the 8 respective teams were prepared and ready for the Shriram Capital TNPL 2023 player auction. This was more of a soft reboot to the teams, and every franchise was looking to build a strong core set of players for the long run.
The Trichy franchise, earlier known as the Ruby Trichy Warriors, went through an ownership change and will partake in the Shriram Capital TNPL 2023 as “Ba11sy Trichy.”
TamilNadu Cricketing Superstar and No.2 Test All-Rounder R Ashwin was seen alongside the Dindigul Dragons management staff today. This was a welcome sign for the league, as the cricketing icon’s personal interest in the league was a testimony to its ever-growing success.
Lyca Kovai Kings captain Shahrukh Khan M was also seen with the team’s management staff.
The five time and currently the shared defending champions Chennai Super Gillies were off to a rocking start and spent almost 75% of their purse on the first four picks.
On the other hand, Salem Spartans was relatively quiet during the first two sessions and invoked a massive applause from the other teams upon their first buy (Kaushik Gandhi M).
The Lyca Kovai Kings went all in to buy Sai Sudharsan B for a whopping Rs 21.60 Lakh, making him the costliest buy of the Auction so far. The swash-buckling explosive player was instrumental in Kovai’s road to the final in the previous edition of the league and was repaid in faith with a massive number.
With many star players and icons going under the hammer, the biggest surprise came from the first player in the D – category Shivam Singh, who was sold to Dindigul Dragons for Rs 15.95 lakhs. With no exposure to International or Domestic games, Shivam Singh’s fortunes were on his side and will be a player to look forward to in the 7th edition of the Shriram Capital TNPL 2023.
All set to star for RCB in IPL 2023, Sonu Yadav R invited a massive bidding war from multiple teams before finally joining the Nellai Royal Kings for a massive Rs 15.20 Lakhs making him one of the costliest buys in the first day of the auction.
Chepauk Super Gillies were relentless in the auction regarding the 33-year-old All Rounder Harish Kumar S. Despite the dynamic player attracting bids from multiple franchises, the Chepauk Super Gillies went as far as Rs 12.80 Lakhs to re-acquire his experience in the upcoming season. The Super Gillies also paid a staggering INR 10.00 Lakhs to add Baba Aparjith to their team.
Indian All-rounder Vijay Shankar attracted a massive bidding war between the iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans and Chepauk Super Gillies before finally joining the former for Rs 10.25 Lakhs.
A persistent bidding war took place between the Siechem Madurai Panthers and iDream Tiruppur Warriors for the current Tamil Nadu captain R Sai Kishore through which the league’s highest wicket taker joined the latter for Rs 13.00 Lakhs.
Despite kicking off their auction late, the Salem Spartans made excellent buys getting ex Super Gillies captain Kaushik Gandhi M for Rs 8.40 Lakhs and experienced all-rounder Abishek Tanwar for INR 13.20 Lakhs.
IPL icons – Natarajan T was sold to the Ba11sy Trichy for Rs 6.50 Lakhs, Varun CV went to Dindigul Dragons for Rs 6.75 Lakhs, while Washington Sundar MS joined the Madurai Panthers for Rs 6.75 Lakhs.
Varun CV’s addition to the Dindigul Dragons is an exciting aspect. The possibility of the spin wizard teaming up with India’s superstar R Ashwin in strangling the opposition batting order would be nothing short of a spectacle. Baba Indrajith, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders in last year’s IPL will also represent the Dindigul Dragons for Rs 6 Lakhs.
Amid fierce competition over the experience of all-rounder Mohammad M, Lyca Kovai Kings closed the deal for Rs 10.60 lakh, while former Chennai Super Kings squad member and Tamil Nadu opening batsman Hari Nishaanth C has been signed by Madurai Panthers for Rs 12.20 Lakhs.
Post a stellar performance in last year’s edition and a successful Ranji debut for Tamil Nadu, recently left-arm spinner Ajith Ram S was picked up by the iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans for Rs 4.2 Lakhs along with Vivek R for Rs 7.8 Lakhs
Siddharth M, who represented the Chepauk Super Gillies in the previous edition of the league, garnered the interest of multiple teams and finally found a place at the Lyca Kovai Kings for Rs 6.00 Lakhs.
Left Hand Batsman and Tamil Nadu’s highest run scorer in the recently concluded Ranji Trophy season, Pradosh Ranjan Paul joins Chepauk Super Gillies for INR 5.00 Lakhs.
Siechem Madurai Panther’s long-stay and ex-captain Arun Karthik shifted to the Nellai Royal Kings for Rs 12.00 Lakhs. Fast bowler Sandeep Warrier and top order batsman Mohan Prasath S were also acquired by the Nellai Royal Kings for Rs 8.50 Lakhs and Rs 3.40 Lakhs.
Despite losing their ace player Arun Karthik, the Siechem Madurai Panthers made amends by signing leg spinner Ashwin M for Rs 6.40 Lakhs.
In the midst of all the bidding heat, Kollywood Actor Arya made a surprise visit to the Ba11sy Trichy’s auction table and brought the much-needed glam to the auction day.
Talking about the auction, Dindigul Dragons captain Ravichandran Ashwin said, “We had an amount in mind for every player that we bid for, and we went all the way through with it. We didn’t expect to buy CV Varun at this price. In fact, I think we were lucky with it.”
Bought by the Nellai Royal Kings for a staggering price, an excited Sonu Yadav R said, “I did not expect to go for such a huge amount. I expected my brother Sanjay Yadav to go for a higher price because he did well in the last season. The TNPL has improved the lives of many like me, and I am grateful for it.”
Commenting on the acquiring Sanjay Yadav in the auction, Chepauk Super Gillies owner Sivanthi Adithan said, “Sanjay Yadav will serve us well as both a left-arm spinner and a dynamic batsman in the top order. We have had many left-arm spinners in our team over the past few years, and we would need to wait and see how many we get this time around.”
Auction Day 2 Preview
The first day of the auction was all action-packed and saw a lot of exciting and surprising buys around the tables. Day 02 looks to be promising and still a lot of purse money to be churned out. Apart from the 11 retained players, the 8 teams collectively picked up 76 players from the auction
Ba11sy Trichy – 16 player slots filled with a remaining purse of Rs 12,55,000
iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans – 11 player slots filled with a remaining purse of Rs 6,25,000
Chepauk Super Gillies – 11 player slots filled with a remaining purse of Rs 3,20,000
Nellai Royal Kings – 11 player slots filled with a remaining purse of Rs 11,80,000
Siechem Madurai Panthers – 10 player slots filled with a remaining purse of Rs 18,10,000
Salem Spartans – 12 player slots filled with a remaining purse of Rs 15,60,000
Dindigul Dragons – 9 player slots filled with a remaining purse of Rs 11,20,000
Lyca Kovai Kings – 7 player slots filled with a remaining purse of Rs 22,35,000
Squad List at the end of Day 01
Chepauk Super Gillies
N Jagadeesan ®(Rs 6,00,000)
U Sasidev ®(Rs 3,00,000)
Pradosh Ranjan Paul (Rs 5,00,000)
B Aparajith (Rs 10,00,000)
S Harish Kumar (Rs 12,80,000)
S Sanjay Yadav (Rs 17,60,000)
R Sathish (Rs 4,20,000)
Rahil S Shah (Rs 2,00,000)
R Rohit (Rs 3,00,000)
M Silambarasan (Rs 2,70,000)
R Sibi (Rs 50,000)
Dindigul Dragons
R Ashwin ® (Rs 10,00,000)
CV Varun (Rs 6,75,000)
B Indrajith (Rs 6,00,000)
Subodh Kumar Bhati (Rs 10,40,000)
P Saravana Kumar (Rs 6,60,000)
Adithya Ganesh (Rs 2,00,000)
Shivam Singh (Rs 15,95,000)
Kishoor G (Rs 50,000)
G Hemanth Kumar (Rs 60,000)
iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans
Tushar Raheja ® (Rs 1,50,000)
Vijay Shankar (Rs 10,25,000)
R Vivek (Rs 7,80,000)
S Ajith Ram (Rs 4,20,000)
R Sai Kishore (Rs 13,00,000)
B Anirud Sita Ram (Rs 4,80,000)
N S Chaturved (Rs 8,00,000)
G Periyasamy (Rs 5,80,000)
H Trilog Nag (Rs 2,00,000)
K Vishal Vaidhya (Rs 5,90,000)
G Parthasarathy (Rs 50,000)
LYCA Kovai Kings
M Sharukh Khan ®(Rs 6,00,000)
J Suresh Kumar (Rs 1,50,000)
M Siddharth (Rs 6,00,000)
B Sai Sudarshan (Rs 21,60,000)
M Mohammed (Rs 10,60,000)
B Sachin (Rs 50,000)
Gowtham Thamarai Kannan (Rs 1,45,000)
Nellai Royal Kings
G Ajitesh ®(Rs 6,00,000)
Karthick Manikandan VS ® (Rs 1,50,000)
Sandeep Warrier (Rs 8,25,000)
S Mohan Prasath (Rs 3,40,000)
R Sonu Yadav (Rs 15,20,000)
K B Arun Karthik (Rs 12,00,000)
A Aswin Crist (Rs 2,00,000)
Nidhish S Rajagopal (Rs 2,15,000)
R Niranjan (Rs 1,10,000)
R Mithun (Rs 1,05,000)
Rithik Eswaran (Rs 5,55,000)
Ba11sy Trichy
W Antony Dhas ®(Rs 6,00,000)
T Natarajan (Rs 6,25,000)
Darryl S Ferrario (Rs 4,40,000)
Monish Sathish (Rs 2,40,000)
Athisayaraj Davidson (Rs 5,20,000)
Ganga Sridhar Raju (Rs 6,00,000)
R Silambarasan (Rs 6,00,000)
Jafar Jamal (Rs 2,00,000)
R Alexander (Rs 2,40,000)
K Mani Bharathi (Rs 1,20,000)
R Rajkumar (Rs 5,80,000)
M Shajahan (Rs 3,00,000)
Francis Rokins (Rs 1,00,000)
Akshay V Srinivasan (Rs 4,30,000)
K Eshwaran (Rs 1,00,000)
Godson G (Rs 50,000)
Salem Spartans
M Ganesh Moorthi ®(Rs 3,00,000)
M Kaushik Gandhi (Rs 8,40,000)
R S Jagannath Srinivas (Rs 2,80,000)
Abhishek Tanwar (Rs 13,20,000)
Akash Sumra (Rs 1,00,000)
Maan K Bafna (Rs 5,90,000)
Sunny Sandhu (Rs 10,00,000)
S Abhishiek (Rs 50,000)
Muhammad Adnan Khan (Rs 1,30,000)
Amit Satvik (Rs 2,40,000)
J Gowri Shankar (Rs 50,000)
R S Mokit Hariharan (Rs 5,40,000)
Siechem Madurai Panthers
Gowtham V ®(Rs 1,50,000)
Washington Sundar (Rs 6,75,000)
J Kousik (Rs 7,40,000)
Swapnil K Singh (Rs 12,00,000)
M Ashwin (Rs 6,40,000)
C Hari Nishanth (Rs 12,20,000)
P Shijit Chandran (Rs 2,60,000)
S Sri Abhishek (Rs 50,000)
V Adhithya (Rs 50,000)
Gurjapneet Singh (Rs 2,05,000)
