TNPL unlikely to take place this year: Tamil Nadu Cricket Association

The fifth edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) might not materialize this year due to the COVID-19 situation at Tamil Nadu currently.
The commencement of the League was postponed to the month of August by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. However, with the current situation of the State, having close to 58,000 active COVID cases, and the latest government orders prohibiting sporting events in August, the situation looks bleak at the moment.

A TNCA official told ESPNCricinfo, “We were initially looking at an August-September window, but it looks unlikely now. There seems to be no window to host the tournament, but we will take the final decision in the next couple of weeks.”

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A rescheduling of the tournament towards the end of the year seems improbable as well, due to the Indian domestic competitions, according to the official, who said, “The IPL is going to happen now and after the players may return from the IPL, the Ranji Trophy season may begin, so there is no window.”

The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) has attracted sizeable popularity and following, especially among the local population, who are slowly starting to acknowledge Cricket at grassroots level. It has also helped young, club Cricketers in performing at a higher level, showing their potential, achieving the spotlight and breaking into the IPL. Spinners Varun Chakravarthy, who was bought for INR 8.4 crore and INR 4 crore in 2018 and 2019 respectively, and Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, who was snapped up by the Chennai Super Kings for INR 20 lakh in the most recent auction, are among the league’s success stories. Chepauk Super Gillies are the defending champions of the TNPL, by virtue of beating Dindigul Dragons by 12 runs, defending 127 in the final last year.