CHENNAI: Four-time Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) winners bagged the talented all-rounder Ashwanth Valthapa for a whopping Rs 14.45 lakh here on Friday at the auction. The spin bowling all-rounder has been in surreal form at the first-division level, picking up multiple five-wicket hauls in the season, and also scoring a sizzling century in Swaraj CC’s clash against Pristine.
27-year-old U Mukilesh, who has previously represented Kovai Kings, will now play for Nellai Royal Kings, after he was snapped at the auction for a massive sum of Rs 13.70 lakh, making it as the second costliest player at the auction. Siddharth Mahadevan was the third costliest player, with Madurai Panthers shelling Rs 8.70 lakh for the destructive batter. The Panthers also shelled Rs 4.5 lakh for the slinger, G Periyasamy.
Two franchises – Kovai Kings and Madurai Panthers will compete under new identities in the upcoming season. The tenth edition of the competition will happen in two phases -- 4th August to 15th August in Dindigul and 18th to 28th August in Chennai. Unlike last year, this year, there will be two women’s exhibition matches, which will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, with the complete fixture yet to be announced.
Apart from Valthapa, the four-time TNPL champions also picked up the hard-hitting Waseem Ahmed alongside the talented wicketkeeper Ram Arvindh R. Interestingly, the franchise also picked up left-arm spinner Mohana Prasath, another player who has done extremely well in first division, with the Grand Slam CC spinner picking up five-wicket hauls for fun, rewarding the left-arm spinner for his toil.
Ashwanth Vathapa – Chepauk Super Gillies (Rs 14.45 lakh)
U Mukilesh – Nellai Royal Kings (Rs 13.70 lakh)
Siddarth Mahadevan – Madurai Panthers (Rs 8.70 lakh)
Waseem Ahmed – Chepauk Super Gillies (Rs 5.2 lakh)