TNPL 2.0 logo unveiled in Tirunelveli

The logo of the 2nd edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) was launched on Tuesday (July 4). The event was held in Tirunelveli. N Srinivasan, who is accredited with having come up with the idea of TNPL, was also present at the event. TNPL is an Indian Twenty20 cricket league established by the Tamil Nadu State Cricket Association (TNCA) in August 2016. The domestic T20 competition is modelled along the lines of the popular Indian Premier League (IPL). The first edition of the tournament had been won by the TUTI Patriots.

TNPL harnessing budding talent

Former cricketer Bharathi Arun praised the domestic tournament in its utility of bringing young talent to the limelight and giving them a perfect platform to showcase their cricketing skills.

“The first TNPL threw light on several cricketers from the nook and corner of the state. It’s concept is to identify good cricketers at the district level. Two outstanding cricketers — N Jagadeesan and T Natarajan — emerged in 2016, and I hope the second edition produces more such talents. Even if 5 per cent cricketers from this competition gets a chance to play in IPL, it’s a success,” Arun said talking about the success of TNPL.

TNPL 2.0 will be a bigger affair than the inaugural edition of the championship. It will have a prize money of INR 1 crore for winners and INR 60 lakhs for the runners-up. An eliminator match will be played this time as a new addition. All the matches will have Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) qualified umpires. Further, each team will be accompanied by an integrity officer to regulate and enforce strict ethical code among the players. The officers will stay along with players round the clock, throughout the season.

TNCA’s feud with the BCCI

However, the tournament has been embroiled in controversy, owing to the TNCA’s clash with the BCCI over the subject of “outstation players”. A large number of non-Tamil Nadu players, including some big names like Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan and Manoj Tiwary had been recorded on the draft list for TNPL. This, however, has not gone down well with the BCCI.

The BCCI had in a working committee meeting last year ruled that no player outside the jurisdiction of a state would be allowed to take part in such leagues. Now, the TNCA in its letter to the board recently has claimed the outstation players, by virtue of registering with the TNCA, are under its jurisdiction for the purposes of the tournament. TNPL 2.0 kicks off on July 22nd.

Here’s the launch of the logo of TNPL 2.0: