Tamil Nadu Cricket League to be hosted in 2017: TNCA

They may have taken away IPL cricket from the state, but that doesn’t mean that Tamil Nadu will not be seeing T20 action. In an interesting and exciting new development, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association has decided to host an all new Tamil Nadu Cricket League. The league is expected to only take place the following year.

However, the tournament is said to be restricted to only the state players, thus ensuring that the IPL stars will not be a part of the tournament. Earlier, the Karnataka State Cricket Association had launched the KPL featuring many domestic players, with the matches played in Mysuru, Hubli and Shimoga.

The franchise-based tournament will have eight teams fighting for top honours. “The main motive for this league is to build a platform for amateur players to exhibit their T20 talent, have a sustainable model for developing infrastructure in districts and bring in new audiences to the grounds.The league will only feature players from the state. The tender process for media rights and franchise rights will be finalized by the end of this month,” a TNCA official said.

The official added that the matches would be played on the NRP College Grounds in Dindigul, a venue that has previously hosted Ranji Trophy matches.

“In 2017, we plan to have a few matches at the NPR College Grounds in Natham (Dindigul) as it has very good facilities and has played host to a few Ranji Trophy clashes in the recent past,” the official added. It was told that the club tournament, featuring 12 teams in May-June, will provide the platform for the franchises to have a look at the players. “Players who do well the in club T20 tournament will be hot property for the TNPL. This tournament, much like the IPL, may also help in unearthing unknown talent who can do well at the state and national level as well,” the official added.

Sunil Subramaniam, a senior coach, and a former spinner within the Karnataka ranks has said that the main reason behind hosting the tournament was due to the deprivation of IPL cricket in the state.

“With no Twenty20 action in the city, fans accustomed to seeing the CSK play feel deprived. These tournaments will definitely bring the audiences back to the ground. If a tournament like this throws up even a couple of players for Tamil Nadu, it is a big plus,” he said.

“Quality local talent can be a game-changer for any franchise. It would be good if CSK can avail some ready-made players on their return,” Sunil added.