The 2021 edition of the TNPL begins today.
Where To Watch: Star Sports (Television Streaming), Hotstar (Online Streaming)
Schedule:
Image Courtesy: TNCA
Let's have a deep dive-in for all the 8 franchises featuring in this edition of Tamil Nadu's flagship T20 tournament.
iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans
2021 Squad: S Dinesh, S Manigandan , R Rajkumar, S Mohan Prasath, S Siddharth, S Aravind, Maan K Bafna, P Francis Rokins, K Gowtham Thamarai Kannan, Aswin Crist, Tushar Raheja, A Karuppusamy, C Shriram, M Mohammed, Dinesh Karthik, N Mohammed Ashik, M Affan Khader, Adhithya Giridhar, L Sathiyannaarayan, S T Natarajan, R I Raaj Kumar, S Ashwin Balaji , M Rooban Raj
2019 Squad: Dinesh Karthik, Kavin R, Ganesh S, Anirudha Srikkanth, Srinivasan R, Yo Mahesh V, Suryap Prakash L, Aaditya V, Kishan Kumar S, Radhakrishnan S, Maan K Bafna, Ashwath Mukunthan, Swaminathan S, Murugesh P, Shajahan M, Rajkumar R, Lakshman V, Ajith Kumar T, Mohan Prasath S
IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans, formerly known as IDream Kaaraikudi Kalai, have now changed their base from Kaaraikudi to Tiruppur for the 2021 edition. The franchise has retained about three players from the previous edition in Dinesh Karthik, Maan K Bafna and Rajkumar R and have taken in as many new faces and have restructured their team for the upcoming edition.
The team started off as Karaikudi Kaalai in the 2016 edition and missed the cutoff to reach the top 4 by a small whisker albeit the NRR coming into play to Lyca Kovai Kings. Lyca Kovai Kings and Kaaraikudi Kaalai finished with NRRs of +0.384 and +0.020 respectively. The initial edition was led by ex-India and Tamilnadu Cricketer S Badrinath with the likes of S Anirudha, Rajhamany Srininvasan, C Ganapathy, Mohan Abhinav, Sonu Yadav, Vishal Vaidhya in the mix.
In the 2017 and 2018 edition, they qualified to the playoffs only to surrender to Lyca Kovai Kings in both the editions in the Eliminator.
The 2019 edition was really a forgettable one for the franchise as they could only win 1 out of the 7 matches even with S Badrinath part of the coaching team. The team has now changed the setup completely and look forward to having a season which would be a talk of the past in the years to come.
This edition, the notable star of the squad Dinesh Karthik will not be available as he is currently in England commentating for the India – England series which is to start during August 2021. In his absence, the opportunity now for filling his shoes behind the stumps goes for N Mohammed Ashik who previously played for Lyca Kovai Kings and contributed with the bat for 19 runs against Salem Spartans ( previously known as Albert Tuti Patriots) on Jul 25 2019.
From the retained players, we have Maan K Bafna who is a notable all rounder for the franchise contributing both with the bat and the ball. He was picked for Kaaraikudi Kalai during the 2018 season and scored 190 runs at an S/R of 122.58 and an average of 23.75. He also picked 5 wickets at an average of 30.8 with an economy of 7 across the 2018 season. In the 2019 season, it was a forgettable season as he scored only 65 runs with a strike rate of 94.2 and an average of 9.29. IN the bowling front, he picked only 3 wickets at an average of 53.33 with an economy of 6.96.
Maan K Baafna
Another all rounder is Rajkumar R who is been with the franchise from the inaugural edition and is a right arm medium bowler. In the 2016 edition, he scored 101 runs at a strike rate of 187.04 and an average of 16.83 and picked 9 wickets at an average of 16.78 with an economy of 6.29. In the following season of 2017, he had a poor run with the bat averaging just 3.33 and picked 8 wickets with an average of 24.5 and an economy of 6.57. In the 2018 edition, he scored 102 runs with S/R of 137.84 and average of 25.5 and picked 11 wickets at an average of 18.55 and economy of 6.8.
The other all rounders include S Siddharth who has been picked from the Nellai Royal Kings (formerly known as VB Kanchi Veerans) who contributed majorly with the bat and occasionally bowls off break. In the 2017 edition, he scored 153 runs with S/R of 128.57 at an average of 21.86. He had a forgettable season in 2018 as he had played only 4 matches and contributed very less with the bat. In the last edition, he played 2 matches with an amazing 50 in the match against Salem Spartans (formerly Albert Tuti Patriots) stitching a partnership of 71 with the captain B Aparajith.
Aswin Crist
In the bowling front, the likes of Aswin Crist, Thamarai Kannan, S Manigandan, C Shriram, M Mohammed, who bring in the experience and talent to the foray. M Mohammed is a seasoned campaigner in the domestic circuit as well as for the state and has been an reliable resource for the teams he had played.
In the batting, Francis Rokins, Adithya Giridhar, Tushar Raheja (prveviously from Madurai Panthers), Dinesh S, A Karrupaswamy would be the players to make it count this season.
Probable Playing XI: M Mohammed (C), S Siddharth, Tushar Raheja, Adithya Giridhar, Francis Rokins, S Dinesh, Maan K Bafna, R Rajkumar, Aswin Crist, K Gowtham Thamarai Kannan, S Manigandan
Ruby Trichy Warriors
2021 Squad: Aniruda S, Sumant Jain, Yazh Arun Mozhi E, Adithya Ganesh, M Vijay, Saravana Kumar P, Mukunth K, Akash Sumra, Rahil S Shah, Muhammed Adnan Khan, Anthony Dhas W, Rahul B, Karthick Shanmugam G, Nidhish S Rajagopal, Poiyamozhi M, Ganesh R, Hemanth Kumar G, Santosh Shiv S, Amith Sathvik V P, Sunil Sam, Mathivanan M, Karthik R,**Varun Totadri, **S Keshav Krishna (** indicates the replacement)
2019 Squad: Adithya Ganesh, Adithya Barooah, Aravind S, D T Chandrasekar, Ganapathi Chandrasekar, K Vignesh, M S Sanjay, Maaruthi Raaghav V, Mani Bharathy K, Mukunth K, Neyan Shyam Kangayan, Poiyamozhi M, Sai Kishore K, Saravana Kumar P, Sathyanarayan R, Vignesh L, M Vijay
Ruby Trichy Warriors had a dismal outing just like IDream Kaaraikudi Kaalai in the previous edition and would like to prove their worth in the 2021 edition. Ruby Trichy Warriors has had an history of not qualifying to the playoffs till now and has been always in the receiving end. The team had players like B Indrajith, Vasanth Saravanan, Ganapathi Chandrasekar, Trilok Nag,TamilKumaran, K Vignesh etc. in the past.
M Vijay who played just 4 matches for the franchise last edition was the leading run scorer amassing 359 runs with a S/R of 148.96 averaging 119.67 with 3 fifties and 1 century won't be available for this season. His 101* came against Albert Tuti Patriots (now Salem Spartans) stitching a 141-run partnership with Adithya Ganesh.
Among the retained from the last edition are M Vijay, Adithya Ganesh, Saravana Kumar P, Mukunth K and Poiyamozhi M. M Vijay, being the senior most player and an experienced campaigner in domestic and international circuit may lead the side.
Notable new entrants to the team include Aniruda S, who led IDream Karaikudi Kaalai last year and would power the batting of the team. Yaazh Arun Mozhi and Sumant Jain from Dindigul Dragons, Akash Sumra and Rahil Shah from Siechem Madurai Panthers, Anthony Dhas from LKK, Nidish Rajagopal from Salem Spartans (formerly known as Tuti Patriots).
In the batting front, Aniruda S, M Vijay, Sumant Jain would have formed the top order. Aniruda scored 210 runs at S/R of 140.94 averaging 30 in the last edition but he won't be available too. He scored a sizzling 98 against Dindigul Dragons but couldn’t make his team win. Being the son of legendary Indian player, Aniruda has had his share of ups and downs in his cricketing career but this TNPL has had him show his worth as he has scored close to 1000 runs in the last 4 editions. His upset over not taking his team to the playoffs would be a motivating factor for him and he would be in all spirits to take RTW to the playoffs this edition. Apart from the stars, Adithya Ganesh, Nidish S Rajagopal,K Mukunth join the fray.
Sumant Jain was part of the Dindigul Dragons last edition and is a middle order batter. His best of 46 came against Chepauk Super Gillies and was the highest scorer of his team but CSG held their nerves to defend a low key total of 127. This time, he would be in high spirits and showcase his skills.
M Vijay
Anthony Dhas W
The allrounders pack is led by the experienced Anthony Das who hit some blows down the order for Lyca Kovai Kings last season and also was a key bowler picking 8 wickets at an economy of 9.74. His best of 63 came against Dindigul Dragons in a rain-curtailed 13 overs-a-side match where he hit 2 fours and 7 sixes. R Ashwin, the captain of DD, tweeted the match as "13 overs game and 8 balls lost already!!! one helluva game". The match saw the record created in TNPL history with about 30 sixes hit in total by both the teams!!!
Sunil Sam
The bowling attack is led from the front by Sunil Sam who originally hails from Kerala and plays for TamilNadu. Saravan Kumar P, Anthony Das and Poiyamozhi M join him to support in the pace department with the spin duo of Rahil Shah, Yazh Arun Mozhi E ready to spin a web around the opponents.
Probable Playing XI: Akash Sumra, Muhammed Adnan Khan, K Mukunth, Adithya Ganesh,(WK), Sumant Jain,Nidish S Rajagopal, Anthony Dhas W, Poiyamozhi E, Sunil Sam, Rahil Shah (C), Yazh Arun Mozhi E
(Just In: M Vijay and S Aniruda pull out of TNPL 2021 due to personal reasons and the replacements for them are all rounder Varun Totadri and young batter S Keshav Krishna)
Salem Spartans
2021 Squad: B Praanesh , S Abishiek, Akshay V Srinivasan, Murugan Ashwin , S Boopalan, Daryl S Ferrario, M Ganesh Moorthi, KH Gopinath, TD Lokesh Raj, G Periyasamy, S Shubham Mehta, U Sushil, M Vijay Kumar, Vijay Shankar, Washington Sundar, Karthikeyan R, Kishore G, Aarif A, R Karthikeyan, M Suganesh, Abhinav Vishnu, AVR Rathnam.
2019 Squad: Akshay V Srinivasan, Subramania Siva V, M Ganesh Moorthi, S P Nathan, Nidhish S Rajagopal, Vasanth Saravanan S, Senthil Nathan S, S Abishiek, Venkatesh A, Kamalesh M, Sathyaraj M, Karthikeyan R, Boopalan S, Tamil Kumaran D, V Athisayaraj Davidson, Wilkins Victor, Akash Sivan S, Karthick Shanmugam G, Shubam Mehta S
Salem Spartans (formerly known as Albert Tuti Patriots) has now has its ownership changed from Thoothukodi Sports and Private entertainment LTD to M.Selvakumar ( VIVO South Chennai distributor). The co-owners of the franchises Siechem Madurai Panthers and Tuti Patriots were accused of match fixing and led to the removal of the co-owners.
The TUTI Patriots were one of the most successful franchises of the TNPL and were always into the playoffs until last two editions. The most successful edition was the inaugural edition in 2016 wherein they rallied to beat Chepauk Super Gillies by 122 runs to lift the trophy ably led by the successful TN captain and wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik. The team had stars like Washington Sundar, Athisayaraj Davidson, Aushik Srinivas, Abhinav Mukund, L Balaji, Aswin Crist etc.
In the next year, CSG took their revenge and comfortably chased the target of 146 set by TUTI Patriots and they snatched away the trophy from the defending champions. The 2018 edition made them lose their playoff spot to IDream Kaaraikudi Kaalai by the way of NRR coming into play with IDKK having NRR of +0.505 and TUTI Patriots having an NRR +0.432. The 2019 edition saw them finish 6th in the points table with just 2 wins from 7 matches.
The team is fresh with a new coach in B Ramprakash and new captain in Daryl S Ferrario. Ferrario played for the Tamil Nadu U-14, U-16 and U-19 before shifting his base to Kerala in 2016. He played for Kerala from 2016-2019 and has now returned back to Tamil Nadu. The team on the whole would be working forward to come back stronger from the last edition where they had a poor outing.
The retained players from the last edition include S Abishiek, Akshay V Srinivasan, S Boopalan, M Ganesh Moorthi and S Shubham Mehta. Akshay V Srinivasan was the leading run scorer for the franchise last edition with 246 runs at a S/R of 120.59 averaging 35.14. His best of 63 came against Ruby Trichy Warriors which also saw the opponent star M Vijay notch up his first TNPL century. In the end, TUTI Patriots lost the plot to RTW. Ganesh Moothi M played only 5 of the 7 innings in TNPL 2019 and could score only 77 runs in all with S/R of 128.33 averaging 19.25.
The new entrants consists of a star pack from the other franchises. Vijay Shankar, G Periyasamy, U Sushil, K H Gopinath and A Aarif from the CSG form the middle order and bowling pack of the new franchise. B Praanesh from Dindigul Dragons is another addition to the franchise. Vijay Shankar who has led some matches for CSG in the past has opted out of captaincy and would like to prove his worth in the upcoming edition. His career has been marred with injuries and inconsistent performances across formats and this would be a challenge for him to prove his worth. The star of last edition, the “sishya” of star pacer T Natarajan, G Periyasamy who led the bowling charts last season with 21 wickets would be here to prove his worth again in this edition. Already part of the state team and part of the KKR reserves, G Periyasamy foxed the opponents last season with unusual slingy action and effective Yorkers and made CSG champions for the second time in the 4 editions of the league. U Sushil, a wicketkeeper batter, would be keen to showcase his skills behind the stumps and also contribute with the bat in the middle.
Vijay Shankar
KH Gopinath
The batting pack is loaded with K H Gopinath who previously played for CSG and was the leading run scorer for the team last edition with 293 runs with a S/R of 149.49 averaging 32.56. His best of 82 came against Lyca Kovai Kings wherein he stitched a partnership of 106 with Ganga Sridhar Raju in a low scoring chase of 115 and crushed LKK. Akshay Srinivasan follows K H Gopinath and fills the top order with the rest of the pack consisting of Vijay Shankar, U Sushil, M Vijay Kumar and Daryl Ferrario.
The bowling and the all rounders pack is led by Murugan Ashwin who is an experienced campaigner of the league and also represented the state and also successful in IPL. He has played for RCB under Virat Kohli and now playing for Punjab Kings since the last 2 editions under KL Rahul. His partnership with Ravi Bishnoi for the franchise were a treat to the eyes of the fans in TV. M Ashwin also provides some impetus with the willow by hitting some useful runs and also some blows down the order. Since Washington Sundar is in England for national duty, all onus will be on M Ashwin to lead the franchise with ease and experience.
G Periyasamy
G Periyasamy leads the pace attack with support from Vijay Shankar and TD Lokesh Raj with the spin department consisting of the star spinner M Ashwin ably supported by Ganesh Moorthi M who was the star of the 2016 final where he took a hat-trick and sealed the trophy for the Tuti Patriots and Shubam Mehta S.
Probable Playing XI: K H Gopinath, Akshay V Srinivasan, Vijay Shankar, U Sushil (wk), Daryl Ferrario S (C), S Abishiek / T D Lokesh Raj, B Praanesh / Aarif A, M Ashwin, G Periyasamy, Ganesh Moorthi M, S Boopalan
Lyca Kovai Kings
2021 Squad: Shahrukh Khan, T Natarajan, Ajith Ram S, Shijith Chandran, Ashwin Venkataraman, Abhishek Tanwar, K Vignesh, Ganga Sridhar Raju, R Kavin, U Mukilesh, Suresh Kumar J, Manish GR, Selvakumaran N, Atheek Ur Rahman, Sai Sudarshan, Gowjith Subash, Aravindh G, Nishaanth Kumar Alwar, Srinivasan E, Kiran Kashyap K, Anandakumar S, Yudeeshwaran V
2019 Squad: Abhinav Mukund, Shahrukh Khan M, Akkil Srinath, Anthony Dhas W, Pradoshan Ranjan Paul, Anirudh Sita Ram B, Malolan Rangarajan, K Vignesh, Jaganath Sinivas R S, Mohammed Ashik N, Ashwin Venkatraman, Natarajan T, Ajith Ram S, Muhammed Adnan Khan, Manigandan S, Suresh Babu M
A team which has been consistent for the first editions always faltered in the penultimate stage, yes Lyca Kovai Kings it is!! The 2019 edition saw them miss the playoffs berth for the first time albeit NRR coming into play. Ruby Trichy Warriors and Lyca Kovai Kings were tied at 8 points each, but the NRR took Ruby Trichy Warriors to playoffs for the first time in 4 editions.
The team boasted of stars like Abhinav Mukund, Anthony Dhas,Malolan Rangarajan (current fielding coach of RCB), M Vijay, Pradosh Ranjan Paul. The team has had few changes to their setup this edition and would like to bounce back from last year’s heartbreak.
Abhinav Mukund and Shahrukh Khan opening against Dindigul Dragons in Qualifier 2 of TNPL 2019
This year the franchise has retained Shahrukh Khan, T Natarajan, Ajith Ram S, Ashwin Venkataraman and K Vignesh. Shahrukh Khan, the recent sensation of Punjab Kings and SMAT 2020-21 hero for the state team is leading the side this edition with a packed armoury. “Shahrukh Khan reminds me of Kieron Pollard”, Anil Kumble, the Punjab Kings' Director of Cricket Operations was quoted as saying. An ably middle order batter, Shahrukh blew away the opponents with his power hitting and was always a threat to the opposition when he was around. Shahrukh initially played for Ruby Trichy Warriors and Siechem Madurai Panthers in 2016 and 2017 edition respectively before shifting to Lyca Kovai Kings in 2018. He has amassed close to 650 runs across 4 editions and his best season was in 2018 when he was the leading run scorer for Lyca Kovai Kings with 325 runs with a S/R of 141.3 averaging 36.11. His best of 86 came against Dindigul Dragons in 2018 where he stitched a good partnership with wicketkeeper batter R Rohith before captain Ashwin bamboozled the opposition. Akkil Srinaath stitched a 107 run partnership with Shahrukh Khan from 64 balls and remained not out on 54.
T Natrajan, the recent star who rose to the top for his bowling in IPL 2020 is the next star from TNPL. He initially played for TUTI Patriots and Dindigul Dragons in the first two editions before moving to Lyca Kovai Kings. Natarajan is famous for his 6 yorkers in a Super Over against TUTI Patriots choking the then state side captain Abhinav Mukund and Washington Sundar and sealing the game for Dindigul Dragons. He was picked by Punjab Kings for one edition and released. He was later picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad and made to warm the bench for two editions. The 2020 IPL edition made him rise to the top and getting selected to the Indian National team and performing for the country was an icing on the cake for his career. There are high doubts on his participation in this year’s TNPL as he is now recovering from knee surgery and is getting ready for T20 WC 2021 to be held in UAE.
K Vignesh and Ajith Ram are the young and dynamic stars for the franchise. K Vignesh, a successful pacer for the state team and Ajith Ram, a quick left arm orthodox would be hungry to showcase their skills again and prove their worth for the franchise and also move to the state team and reach greater heights.
Ganga Sridhar Raju
The new entrants to the team include Ganga Sridhar Raju, an affluent southpaw who impressed in CSG franchise by his lusty blows. He ably supported K H Gopinath wherein he stitched a partnership of 106 with him in a low scoring chase of 115 and crushed LKK. He amassed 229 runs and was the 2nd leading scorer for CSG last edition and his TNPL best of 81 came against Dindigul Dragons in the Qualifier 1 of TNPL 2019 wherein he stitched a 45-ball, 63-run opening stand with KH Gopinath before the latter fell to a part time Hari Nishaanth off-break. Ashwin Venkatraman and Shijit Chandran are the other star batters who would add power to the top and middle order. They both led Dindigul dragons and Madurai Panthers in the last few editions before moving to LKK. R Kavin, the wicketkeeper batter, would be raring to go this season and upskill himself and make a mark in the eyes of the selectors. Gowjith Subash, who played for CSG in the initial editions will be another good addition in the batting department of the team.
Abhishek Tanwar, K Vignesh & Ajith Ram
The bowling pack is led by K Vignesh and Abhishek Tanwar, the leading wicket taker for Madurai Panthers in the 2018 edition and also one of the top three wicket takers for Madurai Panthers last edition. Ajith Ram would be the lead spinner with some assistance from the others.
Probable Playing XI: Ganga Sridhar Raju, Shijit Chandran, Ashwin Venkatraman, Gowjith Subash,R Kavin (wk), Shahrukh Khan (C), U Mukilesh / Selvakumaran N, K Vignesh, Abhishek Tanwar, Ajith Ram, Atheek Ur Rahman / Aravindh G
Nellai Royal Kings
2021 Squad: H Trilok Nag, CH Jitendra Kumar, Sanjay Yadav R, V Athisayaraj Davidson, T Ajith Kumar, M Abhinav, NS Harish, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, S Sharun Kumar, Baba Indrajith, Baba Aparajith, Ashwath Mukunthan, L Suryap Prakash, S Senthil Nathan,Rohit Ram R, Sarathraj A, Veeramani T, Sri Neranjan R, Vivek R, Suresh C and Arjun P Murthy.
2019 Squad: Baba Aparajith, Sanjay Yadav R, Lokeshwar S, Sathish R, Vishal Vaidhya K, Siddharth S, Francis Rokins P, Mokit Hariharan R S, Gowtham Thamarai Kannan K, Harish N S, Arun S, Suthesh R, Sugendhiran P, Deeban Lingesh K,Silambarasan R, Aushik Srinivas R, Divakar R, Mukilesh U
The strongest asset for a cricket team is the head coach. He leads the team with a calm demeanour whatever be the situation the team is in. But when the coach himself leaves behind an unforgettable scar, how can the team do well? But they did well, yes, I am talking about the VB Kanchi Veerans who are now renamed as Nellai Royal Kings in this edition. And wonder who is the person I am talking about? It is the legendary VB Chandrasekhar who jittered the team and the TN state by his shocking demise in the last edition of TNPL while coaching the Veerans. He was instrumental in bringing MS Dhoni into the CSK setup in the initial edition of IPL and the rest is history.
VB Kanchi Veerans went past the winning mark dishing out Lyca Kovai Kings by way of NRR for the first time in the history of 4 editions of the tournament. They were named as VB Thiruvalluvar Veerans in the initial edition of the tournament before changing their name to VB Kanchi Veerans in 2017. They finished 6th in 2016,5th in 2017, 7th in 2018 and 4th in 2019. They were unlucky to have lost to the defending champions of 2018, Siechem Madurai Panthers in the Eliminator and couldn't go past the finish mark in the playoffs.
Baba Brothers, Indrajith and Aparajith
They have come refreshingly better this time with some stars of the TNPL drafted to their team. The Baba brothers, Aparajith and Indrajith would for the first time in TNPL be playing together and would add strength to the middle order when the team is in troubled waters. The retained players from the last edition include the southpaw Sanjay Yadav R who can contribute both with the bat and ball and NS Harish who plays down the order and roll over his arms for some overs in the spin department.
The batting department includes the likes of B Aparajith who was the highest run scorer for Veerans last season with 242 runs striking at 113.62 averaging 40.33. His best of 76* came against Albert TUTI patriots wherein he stitched a good partnership with opener Siddharth before late assault from Rajagopal Sathish made them register the Veerans highest score of 193-3 in last edition. Following Aparajith is Sanjay Yadav who is a valuable asset in the top 4 of the batting order. He finished second to the captain with 241 runs striking at 136.16 and averaging 48.20. His best of 95 came against IDream Karaikudi Kaalai He had valuable partnerships with opener Vishal Vaidhya, captain Aparajith and some late assaults with the talented R Satish and missed out on a well deserved century when he holed out to Rajkumar of off spinner Mohan Prasath.
The new players include the Baba twin, B Indrajith who played and captained Ruby Trichy Warriors in the past and also played a vital role for the team. He was the third highest contributor for RTW in the 2018 edition with 166 runs striking at112.93 and averaging 27.67. His best of 53 in the 2018 edition came against the defending champions Chepauk Super Gillies where he stitched a 113 run this wicket partnership with S Suresh Kumar. Pradosh Ranjan Paul, an able wicketkeeper batter, would add fuel to the fire of the batting department. His best of 43 came against Dindigul Dragons last edition when the team was down with 3 wickets.
Trilok Nag & Athisayaraj Davidson
The all rounders and bowling pack looks kind of impressed with Athisayaraj Davidson leading the pack. Athisayaraj is known for his slingy deliveries and also for his power hitting down the order. He took 9 wickets at an economy of 9.09 last edition. Following him is M Abhinav and Senthil Nathan who can bamboozle with their spin and pace. Trilok Nag adds support to the pace department and would love to bowl like his idol, legendary Australian pacer Brett Lee. In an interview to a sports website during the fist edition of TNPL, Trilok said, “Brett Lee is my role model. It was really special. I don't think anyone's role model sits next to them and talks to them but I was so grateful that it happened to me. I'm just lucky"
Other stars in the franchise include L Suryap Praksh who was picked from Idream Karaikudi Kalai and an exciting talent in Arjun P Murthy. Arjun played in the CSK Junior cricket program and was selected to represent India U-19 against Afghanistan in the last U-19 WC. He is also a handy wicketkeeper and would be a backup to Pradosh Ranjan Paul.
Probable Playing XI: Sanjay Yadav, Arjun P Murthy / L Suryap Praksh, B Aparajith (C), B Indrajith, Pradosh Ranjan Paul (wk), Athisayaraj Davidson, Trilok Nag, M Abhinav, Senthil Nathan, Ajith Kumar T, NS Harish
Siechem Madurai Panthers
2021 Squad: Shahjahan M, N S Chaturved, Anirudh Sita Ram B, Rajkumar K, Aaditya V, Varun Chakravarthi V, Kiran Aakash L, Aushik Srinivas R, Gowtham V, Silambarasan R, Chandrasekhar D T, Rocky B, Saravanan P, Jhathavedh S, Mithun R, Kousik J, Rohit R, Deeban Lingesh K, Nirmal Kumar P S, Sugendhiran P, K B Arun Karthik, Praveen Kumar P
2019 Squad: K B Arun Karthik, Kousik J, Sarathraj A, Shijit Chandran P, Abhishek Tanwar, Nilesh Subramanian R, Mithun R, Kiran Aakash L, Selva Kumaran N, Adhithya Giridhar, Akash Sumra, Sabin Somatha Karnavar, Tushar Raheja, Promoth M S, Rahil S Shah, Jabez Moses J, Karthikeyan R, Lokesh Raj TD
For those who had followed the TNPL since its inception in 2016, they would know the history of the Madurai Franchise. The Madurai franchise started as Madurai Super Giants in the first two editions and had really forgettable campaigns.They lost all the matches in the initial edition and lost 6 matches and 1 No result in the 2017 edition. The management and the team re-formed their strategies and drew a new line fresh with the talent and experience mix.
They bounced back in a way one one expected, YES!!, THEY WERE THE CHAMPIONS of 2018 edition and that was a bang comeback from the franchise!!! The team had the experience of Shijit Chandran, D Rohit, KB Arun Karthick to lead them to their maiden title in the third edition of the tournament. The tournament saw the rise of Abhishek Tanwar, leading wicket taker of the tournament with 15 wickets at an economy of 9.07 and also Arun Karthick amassing 472 runs at S/R of 153.75 averaging 78.67. The 2018 edition saw the rise of Varun Chakravarthi and the heads turned towards the IPL management and he got a contract in the next edition of IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
KB Arun Karthick
The franchise has retained KB Arun Karthick, J Kousik, Kiran Aakash, Mithun R from their previous squad from 2019. The new players for the franchise include their new captain NS Chaturved, who previously played for Dindigul Dragons alongside Jagadeesan and Hari Nishanth; Shahjahan M from IDream Karaikudi Kaalai, Anirudh Sita Ram B from Lyca Kovai Kings, D T Chandrasekhar from Ruby Trichy Warriors, Aushik Srinvas from VB Kanchi Veerans.
The batting department has the likes of Shahjahan M who was the second highest run getter for the Idream Karaikudi Kaalai last edition with 103 runs with S/R of 110.75 averaging 20.60. His best of 41* came against Lyca Kovai Kings where his franchise couldn't cross the finish line and lost by 15 runs. The newly appointed captain of the franchise, NS Chaturved follows Shahjahan who scored 94 runs at a S/R of 120.51 averaging 13.43. He did not get many chances in batting as the talismanic duo of Hari Nishanth and Jagadeesan tamed the opposition at the top while playing for Dindigul Dragons. Former captain KB Arun Karthick who would also keep wickets this edition with the franchise will be a boost at the top with his bact and also would be influential behind the stumps guiding the team and the new captain. Anirudh Sita Ram B and either Rajkumar K or Aaditya V would fill the remaining slots.
J Kousik
The all rounders pack is led by Kousik J, who is fondly called as “Puli” (Tiger in English) by his teammates for his fiery pace and variations. He has the ability to swing both ways and build pressure on the opposition so that his support bowlers can fetch wickets with aplomb. Not only does he contribute with the ball, he also blows some with his willow. He was the second highest run getter for the franchise last edition with 195 runs striking at 122.64 and averaging 39. Rohit R, another all rounder from the Dindigul Dragons would join the support for Kousik and strike the opposition at intervals. Mithun R, the retained Panther would like to continue his form with the franchise and hopes for a better outcome this season.
Kiran Akash L
The bowlers lineup include the fiery medium pacer Kiran Akash L who clocks around 135 kmph. He was the leading wicket taker for the franchise last edition with 17 wickets with an economy of 7.31. Gowtham V, a left arm fast bowler who comes from the Natarajan Cricket Academy in Salem and is a known performer in his circle, would be raring to go and prove his worth in the TNPL. R Silambarasan, another medium pacer from the VB Kanchi Veerans would be raring to go and continue his form in the tournament. He took 6 wickets at an economy of 7.06 last edition. Varun Chakravarthi, who is on National Duty in Sri Lanka would be a major miss in the spin department of the franchise. He may play few games in the latter half depending on the bubble condition in SL and Chennai. In his absence, Aushik Srinivas would be raring to go. He played only 2 matches last edition picking 2 wickets at an economy of 6. He has 134 wickets at an economy of 2.59 in first class cricket. Another spinner who would support Aushik would be D T Chandrasekhar who is an electrifying fielder apart from his leg spin in the middle. He has 18 wickets to his hand in First class averaging 2.94.
Probable Playing XI: KB Arun Karthick (wk), NS Chaturved, Shahjahan M, Anirudh Sita Ram B, Rohit R, Kousik J, R Silambarasan, Aushik Srinivas, DT Chandrasekhar, Gowtham V, Kiran Akash
Dindigul Dragons
2021 Squad: K Vishal Vaidhya (from VB Kanchi), S Arun (formerly VB Kanchi in 2017), Advaith Sharma, R Suthesh (from VB Kanchi), S Swaminathan (from Idream Karaikudi) , L Vignesh (from RTW), R Srinivasan (formerly Idream, now cap of Dindigul), RS Mokit Hariharan (from VB Kanchi - also an ambidextrous bowler), S Lokeshwar (from VB Kanchi -wicketkeeper), C Hari Nishaanth, C Ashwin, MS Sanjay (from RTW), V Lakshman, K Mani Bharathy (from RTW), AR Siva Murugan, Gurjapneet Singh, R Vimal Khumar, Kishan Kumar S, Vigneshwaran S, Ravichandran Ashwin, R Vivek and M Silambarasan.
2019 Squad: Jagadeesan N, C Hari Nishaanth, Ashwin R, Vivek R, Sumant Jain, Mohammed M, Chaturved NS,Abhinav M, Sujay S, Rohit R, Silambarasan M, Praanesh B, Adithya Arun, Kaushik J, Trilok Nag H, Yazh Arun Mozhi E.
When you look at the yellow jersey, only two things flash in your mind. The mighty Australian side of the 90’s and the mighty led- franchise of CSK. Then comes our Dindigul Dragons. The team which missed out the playoffs spot only in the 2017 edition has been such a consistent team that has talent and experience blended together. The team had players like M Ashwin, Yazh Arun Mozhi E, Ganga Sridhar Raju, T Natrajan, Trilok Nag in the past. The team found it difficult to cross the finish line despite topping the table in the league stage last edition only to get foxed by CSG’s G Periyasamy yorkers and losing the chance of being the champions for the first time.
S Badrinath, the head coach of Dindigul Dragons
The experienced Badrinath, who is an ex-India player and ex-TN captain, who also led and coached IDream Karaikudi Kaalai in the past, dons the role of the Head Coach of the franchise this year. The experience and knowledge he carries would be a big boost to the new players in the setup. The franchise has retained the services of experienced off spinner R Ashwin, Hari Nishanth C, M SIlambarasan and R Vivek from the squad of last edition. R Ashwin who is on national duty in the India - England series would be a major miss for the franchise in this edition.
Hari Nishanth C
In the batting front, Hari Nishanth had a wonderful partner last year in Jagadeesan, the leading run scorer of the tournament and this time, he has an able partner in Vishal Vaidhya K, who represented VB Kanchi Veerans in the last two editions. Vishal Vaidhya has had some decent outings in the last two editions despite getting few chances together in the last two editions. S Lokeshwar, who is the wicketkeeper choice for the franchise, would assist the batsmen in the middle order. Hari Nishanth had a fruitful season last year amassing 322 runs at a S/R of 119.7 averaging 40.25. He was the second leading scorer for the franchise and he was instrumental in sealing matches for the franchise last season. His best of 81* from the last edition was against the IDream Karaikudi Kaalai wherein he shared a record breaking 161 run partnership with Jagadeesan and sealed the game for the Dindigul Dragons. His flamboyance in TNPL earned him the state call and his continuity of form in the state side via the SMAT 2020 earned him a contract with the Chennai Super Kings in 2021 edition. R Srinivasan, who is appointed as the captain of the new look Dindigul Dragons will put forth his experience and would be hopeful of leading the team this time to championship. He previously played for IDream Karaikudi Kaalai and his best of 46* came vs Albert Tuti Patriots in 2018 which made his team qualify for the playoffs despite losing the game. R Vimal Khumar, who is the new recruit to the batting armoury, had played pivotal roles in the U16 and U19 cricket. Head coach Badrinath had praised Vimal and said he is a great investment to the team in future. Let's hope he will join the armoury and show his prowess.
R Vivek
The all-rounder pack is led by L Vignesh who has some experience with the state team and also in the TNPL. He has 11 wickets to his name in the TNPL and would show his experience for the franchise. The franchise also consists of an interesting candidate in RS Mokit Hariharan who previously played for the VB Kanchi Veerans. The player is an ambidextrous spinner who can bamboozle the batter both ways. He bowls right arm off break and slow left arm orthodox. He played only one game last season in the Eliminator against the mighty Madurai Panthers and contributed 25 runs with the willow but couldn’t make his team proceed forward in the playoffs. M S Sanjay is another all rounder from the Ruby Trichy Warriors last edition. He scored a belligerent 28* vs IDream Karaikudi Kaalai in the 2018 edition when the team was being shackled heavily by the opponent. He also returned figures of 1/22 with an economy of 5.5 in the same match. The young gun would be eager to contribute and make a mark in the eyes of the IPL franchises. R Vivek, the fourth all rounder from the Dindigul Dragons and also a retained player, would add spice to the flavour for the franchise. He is famous for a screaming one handed juggler at deep mid wicket dismissing J Kousik of SMP off M Abhinav spin. He also is famous for tearing apart M Prasath of IDream Karaikudi Kaalai wherein he scored 32 runs of his over.
M Silambarasan with R Ashwin & Gurjapneet Singh
In the bowling department, we have the young and dynamic left arm orthodox M Silambarasan who has been retained by the franchise. He did a fabulous job by picking 3 wickets for 18 runs in the Qualifier 2 of TNPL 2019 which sealed the deal for Dindigul Dragons to enter the finals. R Sutesh, left arm medium pacer would don the hat of leading the pace attack and would have his experience counted with the franchise. He was part of the RCB squad in 2009 but did not get a chance to feature in a single match with the franchise. Gurjapneet Singh, who hails from Punjab and settled in TN a few years back, is a hot property among the domestic circuit and would be eager to get his chance in this edition of TNPL and showcase his skills to the world. He was a net bowler for the CSK before IPL 2020 and had impressed the likes of MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu.
Probable Playing XI: Hari Nishanth C, Vishal Vaidhya K / R Vimal Khumar, R Srinivasan (C), S Lokeshwar / Mani Bharathy (wk), R Vivek, M S Sanjay, L Vignesh, RS Mokit Hariharan, M Silambarasan, R Sutesh, Gurjapneet Singh
Chepauk Super Gillies
2021 Squad:B Arun, S Vijayakumar, Rajagopal Sathish (from VB Kanchi), R Ram, Arvind, RS Jaganath Srinivas (from LKK), V Santhana Sekar, Manimaran Siddharth, S Sujay (from DD), S Harish Kumar, V Arun Kumar, H Prasidh Akash, R Sai Kishore(from RTW), Narayan Jagadeesan (from DD), V Sai Prakash, M Kaushik Gandhi, R Alexander, U Sasidev, Sonu Yadav (from RTW), Rahul D, Sandeep Warrier, Radhakrishnan S
2019 Squad: KH Gopinath, Ganga Sridhar Raju V, Sasidev U, Harish Kumar S, Kaushik Gandhi M, Ashwin M, Sushil U, Aarif A, Siddharth M, Alexandar R, Vijay Shankar, Periyasamy G, Rahul D, Arun B
If giving a comeback after a disastrous season is an art, then CSG is a picasso of it. Being denied championship in the initial edition, they bounced back to demolish the team which denied them the championship Albert Tuti Patriots and were crowned champions in 2017. They were beaten to pulp in the 2018 edition. This never dented the 2017 champions who ensured that they take back their championship cup back in 2019 denying the first championship to Dindigul Dragons.
The team had players like GS Raju, KH Gopinath, Thalaivan Sargunam, Vasanth Saravanan S, Antony Dhas W, Yo Mahesh V, Tamil Kumaran D in the past. Rajagopal Satish who led CSG to their first title in 2017 comes back to the team after a brief stint with the VB Kanchi Veerans in the last edition. The retained players from the franchise of last edition include the captain Kaushik Gandhi who led the team to championship in the 2019 edition. Other retained players are M Siddharth, S Harish Kumar, R Alexandar, U Sasidev, Rahul D and B Arun.
The new players to the franchise include the dashing opener Jagadeesan N from Dindigul Dragons, able all rounder Sonu Yadav from RTW, young spin sensation R Sai Kishore from RTW, RS Jaganath Srinivas from LKK, S Sujay from DD.
The batting is powered by the wicket keeper - batter N Jagadeesan who was the leading run scorer of the 2019 tournament with 448 runs from 10 matches at a S/R of 137.42 averaging 64. He hit 4 fifties and 1 hundred in the 2019 edition. His best of 105* came against the Ruby Trichy Warriors wherein he pulled off a heist with a 81 run partnership of 30 balls with R Vivek and ensured the team won with 5 balls to spare. He would have an able partner in Sujay S who also hails from the same franchise of Jaggi and hit a belligerent 34 in the lone match he played last edition.
N Jagadeesan in action against RTW in TNPL 2019
R Satish heroics made CSG Champions in 2017
Rajagopal Satish, ex-captain of CSG returns back to the fold with his experience for the franchise. He has hit 400+ runs in all editions of TNPL and has also represented Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.He contributed in the middle for the VB Kanchi Veerans by amassing 178 runs from 8 matches at a S/R of 183.51 averaging 59.33 last edition. Kaushik Gandhi, the retained Super Gillie and the defending champion captain would like to defend the title and prove the franchise’s worth again this edition. U Sasidev, a flamboyant southpaw would be aiming to continue where he left last season with 221 runs at a S/R of 117.55 averaging 27.63.
Sonu Yadav R
The all rounder pack is led by Sonu Yadav R, who originally hails from Uttar Pradesh and settled in TN. He broke into the state team during the SMAT 2020-21 and picked up 9 wickets in 5 games. He played for IDream Karaikudi Kaalai in the 2017 edition and for Ruby Trichy Warriors in the 2018 edition. Assisting him is the super Gilie Harish Kumar S, who contributed both with the bat and ball last edition, hitting 150 runs at a S/R of 161.29 averaging 27.63 and picking up 16 wickets at an economy of 6.65. He was the second highest wicket taker for the franchise. Jaganath Srinivas, another all rounder from the Lyca Kovai Kings last edition would add flavour to the middle order for the franchise.
Sandeep Warrier
The bowling pack is led by Sandeep Warrier, who shifted his base from Kerala to TN last season and is a handy pace addition to the franchise. He plays for the Kolkata Knight riders in the IPL. The bowling unit consists of two young spinners in B Arun and M Siddharth, both retained from the previous edition for the franchise. B Arun bowls off spin whereas M Siddharth bowls slow left arm orthodox. M Siddharth is famous for picking 4 wickets for 20 runs in the finals of SMAT 2020-21 which sealed the game for the state team, his lone game in the SMAT 2020-21. R Alexandar, another left arm spinner also would fight for the spot in the playing XI with his spin bamboozling the opponent.
Probable Playing XI: Jagadeesan N (wk), U Sasidev, R Satish, Sujay S / Santhana Sekar, Kaushik Gandhi (C), Sonu Yadav R, Harish Kumar S, Jaganath Srinivas, Sandeep Warrier, M Siddharth, B Arun / R Alexander
