Tamil Nadu Premier League to be a reality

After weeks of denial, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has finally decided to have a Twenty20 tournament of its own.

Called the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), the competition is likely to be held from last week of August to September, for a period of 14 to 20 days, and will feature eight teams.

The TNCA held an Executive Committee meeting here on Sunday where the proposal was approved. It will now be put before the general body.

The tournament will be conducted in Chennai and Natham in Dindigul, the only venues in the State with floodlights. There will be different franchises from cities such as Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchi, Salem, Dindigul and Tirunelveli. A player auction will be held in Chennai. Initially, the TNCA was not keen on having the competition this year. But with the M.A. Chidambaram not getting any men’s matches in the ICC World Twenty20, and the Chennai Super Kings banned for two years, a view that the State was being starved of this popular format of cricket gained ground.

“We needed to give something to the passionate fans of the game across the State. A competition of this kind would also get the districts involved in a big way,” a top source in the TNCA said to The Hindu. The TNCA, which had put the TNPL in the backburner owing to lack of time, was forced to rethink.

Inspired by KPL

The TNCA was also impressed with the popularity of the Karnataka Premier League and believed it too could conduct a similar competition. In fact, when The Hindu put the question before Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary Brijesh Patel a few months back, he wished the league in Tamil Nadu all success.

In the days ahead, the TNCA will be looking for a media partner for televising the games. Although the crowds are expected to throng the venues, a league of this nature would not be feasible if not shown live.