TNCA lays ground rules for TNPL

Having been deprived of the IPL courtesy of a ban to the Chennai Super Kings, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has come out with an all new Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). The TNPL will be played in Tamil Nadu and become a part of the Tamil Nadu domestic season. It will be an in-house T20 tournament contested exclusively by Tamil Nadu players. Earlier, Karnataka was the other state to do so courtesy of the Karnataka Premier League.

“TNPL will be an important property for us and we don’t want to start off with a controversy. Therefore, we have made it amply clear that no current TNCA office-bearer will be allowed to bid for a team. If somebody wants to do so, he will have to relinquish his post at the TNCA,” a senior official told TOI on Thursday.

Prasanna Kannan, the CEO of the TNPL has also added that India Cements would not be able to bid for a team in the League. Earlier, there was a conflict of interest when N Srinivasan-owned an IPL team in the form of the Chennai Super Kings as well.

“We will get a clear picture on the possible bidders over the next few days,” the source went on to point out.

The TNPL is also expected to be a massive tournament in terms of providing opportunities for players as well as umpires from the state.

“The motive of TNPL is to not only unearth talent in Tamil Nadu but also provide an opportunity for officials from the state to make a mark. We want to give exposure to our state talent,” TNPL CEO Prasanna Kannan told TOI on Thursday.

TNPL is in the process of expanding its team. “We are looking for someone to handle the cricket operations. The person would, in all possibility, be a former state cricketer but we haven’t finalized anyone yet. We are also on the lookout for a commercial manager, anti-corruption officer, and someone to handle the logistics,” Prasanna said.

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