NE SPORTS BUREAU
CHENNAI, JUNE 22
Shriram Capital Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 6th season is all set to begin extravagantly on Thursday, June 23rd.
A total of 8 teams will participate in this coveted tournament, happening in 4 major cities of the state – Tirunelveli, Dindigul (Natham), Coimbatore and Salem.
The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association has announced that the tournament will happen from June 23rd till July 31st for 39 days, including the playoffs and the grand finale. Apart from Tirunelveli and Dindigul, the tournament will be conducted in SNR College Ground, Coimbatore and Salem Cricket Foundation, Salem, for the first time in the history of TNPL.
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Due to the ongoing maintenance work in the M A Chidambaram stadium, Chepauk, the stadium will be missing out the matches for the first time since the inception of TNPL. The opening Match will be played between the defending champions Chepauk Super Gillies and Nellai Royal Kings on June 23rd at the India Cements Cricket Ground, Tirunelveli.
- 8 teams will participate in this coveted tournament, happening in 4 major cities of the state – Tirunelveli, Dindigul (Natham), Coimbatore and Salem
- The opening Match will be played between the defending champions Chepauk Super Gillies and Nellai Royal Kings on June 23rd at the India Cements Cricket Ground, Tirunelveli.
- Out of 30 Players who participated in the auction from Tamil Nadu, 14 of them found a place in various IPL teams.
- In addition, the title winners of this IPL season, Gujarat Titans had three TNPL stars instrumental in guiding the team towards the trophy – Sai Sudharshan, Sai Kishore and Vijay Shankar.
This season will witness maximum number of matches – 10 of them in SNR College Ground, Coimbatore, including the Finals, 9 – games in Salem Cricket foundation, 7 games at the NPR College Ground, Natham, Dindigul and 6 games in India Cements Cricket Ground, Tirunelveli.
Of the past 5 TNPL seasons, many teams have displayed superior quality of cricket. In the inaugural season, the Tuti Patriots defeated Chepauk Super Gillies to clinch the maiden title. But Chepauk Super Gillies won the title 3 times – 2017, 2019, and 2021, thus entering the tournament as the Defending champions.
The Madurai team, which never tasted victory in the first two seasons, rose to prominence by winning the title in 2018 as Siechem Madurai Panthers.
Billed as the most consistent team of the past 5 seasons, Dindigul Dragons entered the finals twice. Also, the last year runner up, Ruby Trichy Warriors are all set to showcase their grit this year. Apart from the above teams, Nellai Royal Kings, Lyca Kovai Kings, iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans, and Salem Spartans have given a tough competition to the other teams by displaying top talent, making the tournament super competitive.
The TNPL had been instrumental in developing many world class players in the International Cricket Arena. The Tamil Nadu Speedster Thangarasu Natarajan from a small village (Chinnappampatti, Salem) has now transformed into a world class bowler. Also, Chennai kid Washington Sundar has been an integral part in the success stories from Tamil Nadu Cricket in the recent years. They performed exceptionally well in the TNPL which helped their career give a major boost to play in the IPL and subsequently for India.
The icing on the cake being the emergence of Varun Chakravarthy who was selected in the Indian Team for the 2021 T20 World Cup. It is worthwhile to take note that in the recent times, many Tamil Nadu players who had played in the TNPL had found a place in the IPL teams through the IPL Auctions. Out of 30 Players who participated in the auction from Tamil Nadu, 14 of them found a place in various teams. This success is completely attributable to the TNPL conducted by the TamilNadu Cricket Association.
In addition, the title winners of this IPL season, Gujarat Titans had three TNPL stars instrumental in guiding the team towards the trophy – Sai Sudharshan, Sai Kishore and Vijay Shankar.
Hari Nishant and Jagadeesan – Chennai Super Kings, Varun Chakravarthy and Baba Indrajith – Kolkata Knight Riders, Ravichandran Ashwin – Rajasthan Royals, Natarajan and Washington Sundar – Sunrisers Hyderabad, Murugan Ashwin and Sanjay Yadav – Mumbai Indians, Shah Rukh Khan – Punjab Kings, Dinesh Karthik – Royal Challengers Bangalore, all these star performers of the IPL had Played a crucial part in their team’s success in TNPL too.
To add glory to the above, Former CSK Star batsman and Former Captain of Punjab Kings, Murali Vijay will be playing for Ruby Trichy Warriors in this season of TNPL. The emergence of top-quality cricketers every year is the reason why the entire nation looks at TNPL with lots of excitement and intense. Each season of TNPL brings about new records.
Most importantly, two-time leading run scorer Narayan Jagadeesan is the highest run getter of the tournament with 1240 runs. Sai Kishore continues to be the highest wicket taker with 68 scalps up his sleeves. Spinner Alexander from Chepauk Super Gillies recorded the best bowling figures of the tournament by registering 5-9 in 2019 against Ruby Trichy Warriors.
Baba Aparajith, while playing for Kanchi Veerans, recorded the highest individual score by registering a whopping 118 in just 63 balls against Karaikudi Kalais in 2016. Likewise countless records have been registered in this tournament. The 2021 season of TNPL had The Man of the tournament C Hari Nishant scoring the maximum runs of the tournament, 368 runs while playing for Dindigul Dragons and the Most number of wickets, 13 scalps, was recorded by P Saravana Kumar, who represented Ruby Trichy Warriors.
Star player of Chepauk Super Gillies, Narayan Jagadeesan scored a terrific 90 in the finals against Ruby Trichy Warriors, helping Chepauk Super Gillies clinch the title once again. Though being a successful tournament for the past 5 seasons, TNPL faced tough times last year due to Covid restrictions imposed among players and support staff, thus making the matches to be played without the presence of fans. However, due to the immense efforts put in by the TamilNadu Cricket Association, the matches are being organised with 100 percent occupancy this season.
