Tamil Nadu Premier League auction today

Each of the eight teams has already retained three players while the order of picks for the first two rounds of the draft will go from the highest bidder, Tuti Patriots, to the lowest bidder, iDream Karaikudi Kalai. Former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan will be the host for the draft. The third edition of the TNPL is scheduled to start on July 11. 

“The TNPL has grown in stature over the past two seasons both in quality and prominence with players being picked by Indian Premier League franchises,” TNCA joint secretary RI Palani said ahead of the player draft. 

Defending champion Chepauk Super Gillies sprung a surprise ahead of TNPL 3 by retaining the trio of Karthik Sukumaran, Uthirasamy Sasidev and Ramadoss K Alexander, leaving out experienced players such as captain Rajagopal Sathish and opener Thalaivan Sargunam. 

With an all-rounder, wicket-keeper and spinner in its ranks, CSG would look to strengthen its batting and pace bowling department in a bid to retain the title. As Washington Sundar and Dinesh Karthik will be on national duty with the Indian cricket team, Tuti Patriots decided to retain spinner Ganesh Moorthy, Akash Sumra and Anand Subramanian. 

Similar to CSG, the Season 1 champion will aim to add a number of batters and fast bowlers to its roster in order to bring back the trophy home. Meanwhile, Dindigul Dragons, which failed to qualify for the play-off’s last season, will be bolstered by the presence of premier off-spinner R Ashwin in its ranks. 

With the 31-year-old not being picked for the ODI and the T20I series of the England tour, his franchise can expect him to play a few matches before the five-match Test series begins. 

The Dragons can also count on wicket-keeper N Jagadeesan, who was a part of the victorious Chennai Super Kings squad that won its third IPL title this year. Super Gillies, Patriots, Kalai and Lyca Kovai Kings are eligible to pick any player of their choice in the first two rounds (including capped player) while Ruby Trichy Warriors, VB Thiruvallur Veerans and Dindigul Dragons can pick only uncapped players in the opening two rounds. 

All teams will be allowed to pick any player in between rounds 3 and 16, so that the squad size remains 19 at the end of the draft. Meanwhile, Chettinad Apparels, which owns the Karaikudi Kaalai franchise, has reached an agreement with R Murthy, Chairman, iDream Groups, and the team will henceforth be called iDream Karaikudi Kaalai.