TNPL, A Revolution

A brainchild of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) president and former BCCI chief N Srinivasan, the TNPL was launched in August this year. “The main idea behind TNPL is to bring cricket to the districts of Tamil Nadu and explore local talent,” said Srinivasan at the launch and by the time the league ended, many district associations in the state had expressed interest to host the league next year, indicating its success. 

The eight franchises (representing districts) for the TNPL were Karaikudi Kaalais, Dindigul Dragons, Kanchi Warriors, Madurai Super Giants, Kovai Kings, Tiruvallur Veerans, Chepauk Super Gillies and  Tuti Patriots. After an intense fourweek battle, Tuti Patriots beat Chepauk Super Gillies in the final to be crowned TNPL champions. The matches were played across three centres including Chennai, Natham and Tirunelveli. 

The TNCA had earned a total of Rs 33.51 crore in franchise rights, a highest among the local T20 leagues in the country. W Antony Dhas, the highest wicket-taker in the league, said he was delighted to be a part of the league. “At a very important stage, TNPL has supported me and hence it is a great feeling. My most memorable moment was when I picked four wickets, giving away nine runs. It was like a life-changing moment for me. I will remember this event as a launchpad for me. I may get to play the IPL from here on. The selectors will be noting this. So this will be an important start to my career,” the Chepauk Super Gillies bowler said. 

Baba Aparajith, who isn’t new to pressure cricket, hit most sixes in the tournament. “It’s been a great success and we all enjoyed playing this. We wanted a platform to perform and TNCA has given a great platform. Everything was perfect in this tournament. We did well as a team and personally also I had a good tournament. We will try and be better in the next year as well,” he said. 

Aparajith, who scored 293 runs in five matches, said the first century he scored against Karaikudi Kaalai was a memorable one. “Personally, the first 100 set the momentum for me. I didn’t expect it, but things fell in place and from then onwards it took off well. It is a great feeling to win any award, but winning the maximum sixes award is a great boost for me as well because I am not known to hit sixes, but I worked on it. I think it has paid off. The positives are that we won four matches as a team, but we couldn’t qualify because of the net run rate. We were a bit unlucky, but as a team we did well. Any other tournament, out of seven matches if we had won four, we would have qualified,” he added. 

N Jagadeesan, who won three awards –Player of the Tournament, Most 4’s and Highest run-scorer, said he felt he was on top of the world. “I’m really happy that I did well in the tournament and that people started recognising me because of my performances. It feels great to be the leading run-getter of the tournament as my batting was good and I was knocking the ball well. My 87 not out against VB Thiruvallur Veerans was my most memorable moment. It feels great to have legends of the game like Dean Jones, Brett Lee and Mathew Hayden complimenting your game. So I’m happy for it. It’s been a great experience and exposure for me to be part of TNPL,” said Jagadeesan.