As the heat and dust of the Assembly election has settled, Tamil Nadu is getting ready to witness another exciting and entertaining festival, a festival of cricket. Come August, the State will see eight professional teams vying for a prize money of Rs 1 crore in the Tamil Nadu Premier Cricket league, which has been titled TN Premier league.
N Srinivasan, former chairman of International Cricket Conference who is also a leading industrialist in the country is the master brain behind the new venture. Addressing reporters at Chennai on Thursday, Srinivasan said the TN Premier league has been conceived in such a way that it would bring out the best talents from all over the State to national mainstream. “Cricket and Tamil Nadu are synonymous with each other. But the sport has been hitherto confined to cities like Chennai. We are taking the game to the nook and corner of the State,” said Srinivasan.
For the first time in the history of Tamil Nadu cricket, eight cities/towns in the State would have their own teams locking horns in the league. Srinivasan, an expert in integrating cricket and business is out to make TNPl a part of the day-today life of an average Tamilian and hence the teams have been classified based on cities/towns. Names like Karaikudy and Dindigul are being featured in the cricketing map of the country for the first time.
He said the TNPl matches (T20) featuring eight teams would be played at Chennai, Tirunelveli and Natham in Dindigul district. “This is an opportunity for players from the districts of Tamil Nadu to showcase their talents. By staging the TNPl matches we hope to develop cricket in the districts and also to take the game to all nook and corner of the State,” said Srinivasan.
The TNPl will get going by the end of August and run into September, said the TNPl boss. The winner will take home a prize money of Rs 1 crore while the runner-up will get Rs 60 lakh. The losing finalists will get Rs 40 lakh each, according to Srinivasan. Players participating in the three-week long TNPl stand to get a take home pay of Rs 60 lakh.
The TNPl teams are owned by eight business groups based in Tamil Nadu. Thoothukudi Sports Club, Metro Nation, South Chennai, leika Sports Club, Coimbatore, Kothari Madras, Madurai, Ruby Builders, Kancheepuram, VV Cricket, Thiruvallur, Tec Solutions, Dindigul, and Chettinadu Apparels, Karaikudy are the challengers in the TNPl.
Srinivasan disclosed that Star TV is the media partner and all matches would be telecast live. According to R Mohan, veteran cricket writer, the TNPl could be the game changer which the cricket lovers in the State was waiting for. “Cricket is the State game of Tamil Nadu. TNPl will further revolutionise the game,” said Mohan.
If one thinks the TNPl is meant only for players from the State, you re mistaken, The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association is in talks with BCCI for making available players from other States to play in the TNPl. “There will be no auctioning of the players. We are going ahead with a process of drafting the players,” said Srinivasan. Chennai in general and Tamil Nadu in particular which has been missing big time cricket following the controversy associated with the IPl, is in for a pleasant season as the stadiums in the three cities are getting ready for the “Big Show”.